


Triad of Blood (On temporary hiatus)

by Wendy Winchester (Songbrd21)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Sam, F/M, M/M, Reader is a sci-fi geek, powerful sam, reader is a badass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4504770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbrd21/pseuds/Wendy%20Winchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A hunter has discovered that combining holy water with the venomous saliva of a moogie creates a poison deadly to demons, killing them & saving the human. But Sam isn't possessed, he just has demon blood so that's what the poison attacks. He's dying but it's suggested that drinking angel blood might help. Cas isn't sure what will happen but he isn't about to let his friend die.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trial By Moogie Spit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Major spoilers for season 13. After that, it diverges from canon. When the story starts Mary has been rescued. Also, Crowley never died (And, yes, I'm too lazy to come up with how he's alive). Asmodeus is no fun.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this story and please review. Reviews make my day. Thanks! ^_^
> 
> * * *

_Cas had just told Sam and Dean that Amara was God's sister. After a tense conversation, Sam left the room and once he was out of earshot Cas spoke. "Dean...about our fight....I wanted you to know that I forgive...._

_Dean interrupted him. "Cas..." His expression was full of regret and sadness. "Don't."_

_"Why not? You're my friend," Cas said with genuine confusion._

_Dean gritted his teeth in anger at himself. "Because I don't deserve it alright!?" he said with rising volume. "I almost killed you!"_

_Cas looked pained. "Dean. It was the mark. It wasn't your fault."_

_Dean looked down and away._

_“It's the same as when you were a demon. It wasn't you. So please," he put his hand on Dean's shoulder, "just accept that I forgive you and that I'm happy you're you again," he finished with a warm smile._

_Dean looked into Cas' eyes and tears began to fall. "You can forgive me all you want. It doesn't mean I forgive myself."_

 

_Four days later Sam, Dean, and Cas were resting in the bunker. "I'm going on a beer run. You want some pie, Dean?" Sam said as he walked into the main hall of the bunker._

_Dean was silent for a moment then turned to Sam. "Sammy I...I wanted ta talk to you about what I said when we were burning Charlie's body."_

_Sam's eyebrows rose in surprise. Dean was reaching out and that didn't happen too often; not unless Sam had nagged him for days on end first. He sat down next to Dean at the long table. "Okay."_

_"When I said you should be the one up there...I...I would never wish that. I'm so sorry I said it," Dean said, his eyes misting over._

_Sam smiled. "It's okay, Dean. I know that was the mark talking. Especially after what you said to me in that church. You're my brother. I'd never stop loving you for something you did when you had so little control over your actions."_

_Dean's comfort level dropped a few points. Of course, he loved Sam but neither of them really said it to each other directly. It was a little weird but he managed a small, ghost of a smile in spite of it. "Thanks."_

_"At least now I know you can still smile. Now we just need to get you to the point where you stop avoiding Cas."_

_Dean shook his head sadly. "You don't know what I did to him. I beat the shit outta him." He sighed heavily. "And I came this close," he said as he held his thumb and index finger about a quarter inch apart, "to stabbing him with an angel blade."_

_Sam set his jaw. "You know what? I think the fact that you didn't kill him says a lot. It says that you care about Cas and you'll fight for him...for both of us. I was gonna let you kill me, but you turned around and killed Death instead. Trust me. We're good. And I'm sure Cas feels the same way."_

_"He's right, Dean," Cas said from behind the older hunter as he entered the hall._

_Dean stiffened slightly but stood and turned toward the angel. "Cas..."_

_Cas smiled and hugged Dean. "You're my friend and that's not going to change." He broke the hug and stood back a bit._

_"Thanks, man," Dean said with another small smile. He turned to Sam. "Hey Sammy, how bout that pie?"_

_Sam grinned. "You got it."_

 

Dean shook his head to clear out his memories. He, Sam and Cas were eating breakfast together. Well, Sam and Dean were eating it anyway, Cas just stared at his pancakes and sausage, desperately wishing he had human taste buds again.

"Come on, Cas. Try 'em," Sam prodded.

Cas sighed. "It's no use. Everything tastes disgusting."

Sam twisted his mouth sideways in thought. "Couldn't you just change your taste buds to work like a human's?"

"I wish that were possible."

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"An angel's grace permeates every part of a vessel. Unfortunately, this includes the taste buds."

"Maybe you could make your grace flow away from your mouth?" Sam offered.

Cas considered this for a moment. "I can try." He concentrated then tentatively took a bite of a sausage.

Dean and Sam smiled as Cas' eyes lit up.

"It's wonderful," Cas said happily. He took another bite but his joy was interrupted when he saw Sam's eyes close and his head droop a bit. "Are you alright, Sam?"

"Uh, yeah, I just feel really tired all of a sudden," Sam replied.

"You been sleepin' okay, man?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Maybe I'm comin' down with something." Sam let out a tired sigh. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed for a bit."

"Actually, Sam, I can make you better," Cas offered.

"That'd be great, Cas. Thanks." Sam stood and started walking toward the angel but didn't make it more than two steps before his eyes rolled upward and he collapsed onto the floor.

Dean was at his brother's side in an instant. "Sammy!" He checked for pulse and breathing. Both were present but this didn't ease his anxiety because Sam was still unconscious. "Sammy?"

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((Hides from angry glares in reader proof bunker)) Okay, I know. It's a mean cliffy but I'll get the next chap out as soon as I can. Keep in mind no matter what happens that I love happy endings. I also will never abandon this story. :)


	2. The Demon Nuke

 

“Let me see him, Dean,” Cas said as he knelt by the younger Winchester.

Dean moved out of the way but stayed close by.

Cas put a hand on Sam’s head but his expression quickly became confused. “Something’s strange. I don’t feel an illness in him,” he said with concern.

“What do you mean he’s not sick?! He just dropped like a sack of potatoes!” Dean insisted.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Cas said.

A quiet groan got Dean’s attention. His eyes widened in hope. “Sammy?” He patted the side of Sam’s face. “Hey.”

Sam’s eyes fluttered open. “Dean? What...what happened?” he asked softly.

Dean frowned. “I don’t know. You just passed out.” Sam slowly sat up and Dean put a hand behind his back to help him.

“I feel like my head’s stuffed with cotton. Can you heal me, Cas?” Sam asked.

“I’m sorry, Sam. I tried, but you don’t have any illness that I know of,” Cas said with a wince.

“What? Then why did I pass out?”

“I don’t know. And I couldn’t find any injuries either,” Cas admitted.

“Then what the hell’s wrong with me?” Sam asked in frustrated confusion.

 

The next day Sam was lying on his bed watching TV. He felt like shit. Every muscle in his body ached and so watching television was really the only thing he felt up to doing. Which was why he got annoyed when his show was interrupted by the news.

 _This is a FOX breaking news report._ A woman in her mid forties appeared on the screen. _Good evening. This is Linda Farris for FOX news. An unprecedented event has just occurred in Lebanon, Kansas._ Sam’s interest was piqued when he heard the name of the town the bunker was in. _Nine people suddenly screamed, collapsed and revived in a matter of minutes. When they woke up they had no memory of the last three months. The Chief of police is asking everyone to remain calm. Other than the memory loss, all nine people who collapsed now seem to be perfectly fine. A witness reported seeing a strange yellow light flashing over the body  of one of the afflicted. That witness is now being interviewed by the police psychologist._

“Dean!” Sam yelled.

Dean came running into the room, fearing his brother had gotten worse. “Sammy? You okay?”

Sam smiled a little at Dean’s concern. “I’m okay enough. But you need to see the news story that just aired.” He rewound the footage on the DVR.

A few minutes later Dean nodded as the news piece ended. “Yeah. Definitely a job. I’ll go see what I can find out.” He pointed at Sam. “You stay put.”

Sam sighed and went back to his show.

 

 

“I’m telling you, Agent. You won’t get much outta her that makes sense,” the Police psychiatrist said as she led Dean to the room where the witness was.

“I’m just being thorough, Ma’am,” Dean said politely.

The psychiatrist opened a door. “Okay then. She’s in here.”

Dean walked into the room to find a seventeen-year-old black girl sitting with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. She looked up.

“Well at least they sent a hot guy to laugh at me this time,” the girl said with a note of bitterness in her voice.

Dean cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not here to laugh at you, Calli. I just wanna hear your side,” he said as he sat down.

“Okay,” Calli said with uncertainty.

“The cops said you saw yellow light coming from your friend’s body?”

“Yeah. It was scary as hell. But...but then he was fine. I’m not crazy.” Calli said firmly.

“I know you’re not.”

“You do?”

“Let’s just say my department deals with a lot of weird.”

“Like the X-files?”

“Yeah and I’m about to add some to your pile. Do you ever remember Jason’s eyes turning black in the past three months?”

Calli’s eyes widened. “How’d you know that?”

“Like I said, I deal with a lot of weird.”

“Yeah. I...I thought I’d imagined it.”

“Did he do anything unusual right before he passed out?”

Calli thought for a moment. “No. He just drank a glass of water.” Her eyes widened. “Do you think something’s wrong with the water?!”

Dean waved his hands in front of himself dismissively. “No no.” He stood and held out his hand. “Thanks for your cooperation. And don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.” He’d said there was nothing wrong with the water but as Calli shook his hand his mind was racing.

 

 

Dean filled a cup with water and sniffed it. It smelled a little off. “The hell? This stuff smells like cucumbers.”

“May I see it, Dean?” Cas asked.

“Yeah,” Dean answered, handing the cup over.

Cas sniffed the water. “It _does_ smell like cucumbers.” He dipped a finger in the cup and his eyes widened. “This contains holy water.”

“You mean someone blessed the town water supply?” Dean asked with wide eyes.

“It would seem so. But that wouldn’t kill demons. I think whatever is creating the strange smell was mixed with the holy water.”

“Great. Well, I guess it’s research time then. ” Dean said.

 

“What are we looking for?” Sam asked as he opened his laptop.

“Anything that smells like cucumbers,” Dean replied.

Sam cocked an eyebrow. “Okaaay.”

 

“I think I got somethin’,” Dean said with hope after about an hour and a half.

Sam and Cas looked at Dean expectantly.

“There’s a Native American monster called a moogie. It says it’s a huge lizard that lives in the Ozarks and it’s easy to avoid because it smells like cucumbers,” Dean said as he tapped his index finger on the page of the book he was reading.

“Wow. The smell must be really potent,” Sam said. “So maybe someone mixed the holy water with moogie blood or something?”

Dean’s phone rang. He sighed and picked it up. “Yeah? Oh hey, Jenny. Wait wait. Slow down. I can’t understand a damn thing when you talk that fast.” After a moment Dean’s eyes widened. “Wow. Yeah. That’s great news. Do you know where to find this chick?” He picked up a pad of paper and a pen. “Sixty Eight Wayland street. Got it. Thanks, Jenny.” He hung up the phone and turned to Cas and Sam.

“Who’s Jenny?” Cas asked.

“Just a hunter we met once. And damn, I wish she’d called about an hour ago. She woulda saved us a lot of time,” Dean replied with irritation.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“Jenny said she heard from a friend of hers that another hunter figured out mixing moogie spit with holy water equal demon nuke,” Dean said with a smirk.

“That’s awesome!” Sam said as excitedly as he could in his condition.

Cas’ expression darkened. “Maybe not so awesome. This mixture attacks demon blood. It’s the only way it would affect them.”

“And?” Dean prodded.

Cas sighed. “And who do we know who has demon blood,” he said, looking pointedly at Sam.

Sam’s eyes widened. “Cas, are you saying....?”

Dean felt his breath hitch in his throat as he looked at his brother. “So this stuff can kill Sammy?”

“I don’t know. At the very least we know it makes him sick. Do you know where this hunter is?” Cas asked.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go find her. Can you stay with Sam, Cas?”

“Dean. I don’t feel so bad that I need a babysitter,” Sam argued.

“We’re dealin’ with an unknown here, man. I’m not takin’ any chances,” Dean said firmly.

Sam sighed in defeat. He was too damn tired to argue. “Fine.”

 

Dean knocked on the door of a motel room and waited.

“Just a minute,” a woman’s voice called from inside.

Dean heard footsteps and the door slowly opened about four inches.

“Yeah?” said the woman, her face only partially visible.

“Are you Y/N Y/L/N?”

The door opened the rest of the way. If Dean wasn’t in panic mode over Sam he would have done more than cock an eyebrow at her appearance. She was five foot three with auburn hair that flowed to her shoulders. The sides of her hair were pulled up in a ponytail and the rest hung loose. She was early to mid-thirties,  had blue eyes and curves in all the right places. She was also at least a C-cup.

“Yeah I’m Y/N. Who’re you?”

Dean cleared his throat to center himself. “My name’s Dean. I’m a hunter.”

Y/N’s eyes shot wide. “Dean Winchester?!”

Dean frowned in confusion. “Yeah, but how do you....?”

Y/N smiled widely. “I’m a huge fan. I’ve read all the Supernatural books. Even the unpublished ones online,” she said excitedly.

Dean rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t have time for this fangirl crap,” he said shortly.

Y/N shrank back, reducing her already short stature even further and the smile vanished from her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

Dean sighed. “I’m not mad. I’m just in a hurry.”

Y/N rose to her full height and her smile returned a little. “Oh. Okay. Um. Well, why are you here?”

“I need your help.”

Y/N’s eyebrows went up. “You need _my_ help? But you and Sam are the most badass hunters in existence.” She looked behind Dean. “Where is Sam anyway?”

“That’s why I need your help. He’s sick and I think your demon nuke might be the reason.”

Y/N’s mouth dropped open. “My...but...but I don’t understand. That stuff only hurts demons.”

Dean made a short, impatient sigh. “And people with demon blood.”

Y/N’s hand went to her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh God. I didn’t...I didn’t think....” she sputtered as the tears fell.

“Is there an antidote?” Dean asked firmly.

Y/N’s crying increased. “No. I didn’t think it would hurt anyone but demons so I didn’t make one.”

Dean clenched his teeth. “Do you have any of the moogie spit left?”

Y/N nodded. “Yeah.”

“Okay then. Get your stuff. You’re comin’ with me.”

 

 


	3. Blue

As they began to drive, Dean looked over at Y/N. She looked on the verge of a panic attack as she fidgeted with the jar of moogie saliva in her lap. “Hey, how come you weren’t surprised me and Sam are real?”

Y/N smiled a little. “I don’t think there’s a hunter alive who doesn’t know about you guys. At least in the US anyway.”

“So if you knew we were real, why bother reading the books?”

“I was hearing tons of conflicting stories about what happened when Sam started the apocalypse. So when a friend of mine told me there were books about you guys I figured they might have the truth.”

“Makes sense I guess.”

“I like your real face better than the one on the book covers. Does Sammy look really different too?”

Dean’s eyebrows rose at the question. “Yeah. But didn’t you look up pictures of us online? I mean, me and Sammy have been all over the news.”

“Except for when I’m looking for a case I don’t really watch the news. Too depressing.”

“Oh.” Dean pulled off to the side of the road. “Okay. We’re gettin’ close so I need to put this on you,” he said, holding up a piece of blue fabric.

“Is that a blindfold?” Y/N asked, feeling a bit insulted.

“Yeah. Sorry but our home’s a secret.”

Y/N sighed. “Okay.”

 

 

Once Dean led Y/N into the bunker he shut the door behind them and removed the blindfold.

Y/N’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. “Holy shit!” she breathed in awe. “You guys have a mansion?”

Dean let out a breath of a laugh. “Heh. No. It’s an underground bunker.”

“Hell of a bunker. Damn,” Y/N commented as they walked down the stairs.

 “So do you have everything you need to work?”

Y/N set her duffle bag on the meeting table. “Yeah but, I’m not sure what I’m gonna do, Dean. I mean, I just saw moogie spit hurt a demon and thought mixing it with holy water would be a good idea. I’m no chemist,” she replied with regret.

“Just do your best.” Dean turned to the large hallway leading away from the room. “Cas,” he called out.

Cas quickly appeared and Y/N’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, Dean?” Cas said.

Y/N quick walked over to Cas and knelt down in front of him. “I’m so happy to meet you, Cas.”

Dean cocked an eyebrow. “What the hell are you doing?” he asked with a disbelieving tone.

Cas, however, understood immediately. “Please. There’s no need to kneel to me.”

Y/N slowly got up. “I know _you_ don’t think so but I’m Christian and...you’re one of the good angels,” she said with reverence.

“Okay,” Dean said, grabbing Y/N’s arm, “Bible school’s over.” He pulled her back to the meeting table. “Cas, this is Y/N. She made the demon nuke and she’s here to put together a cure. You got any ideas?”

Cas shook his head. “Not really. I hadn’t even heard of a moogie until today.”

“Damn it,” Dean swore.

“Cas, I don’t suppose you can turn holy water back into regular water?” Y/N asked.

Cas shook his head. “Once something is blessed it can’t be undone.”

Y/N sighed. “I figured.” After a moment of silence she got an idea. She was a little afraid to voice this idea however because it might piss Dean off. It was for Sam though and so she decided to take the potential bullet. “Cas...could angel blood neutralize demon blood?” she asked with a wince.

Cas’ eyes widened for a second but he remained silent.

“Could it, Cas?” Dean asked eagerly, completely surprising Y/N with his response in the process. He noticed Cas still hadn’t spoken and that the angel also looked a bit guilty. “Cas?”

Cas sighed. “I’ve actually had that idea for years but I never mentioned it because I don’t know what it’d do to Sam. For all I know it would kill him.”

“Well it’s the only plan we’ve got for now but I wanna talk to him about it first,” Dean said.

“Can I come?” Y/N asked gently.

Dean’s mouth twisted sideways in thought. “Yeah, I guess.”

 

 

Dean knocked on Sam’s bedroom door but got no response. He knocked again. “Sammy?”

“Dean!” Sam cried out. His voice was strained and barely audible.

Dean immediately opened the door and the sight that met his eyes made his stomach twist in panic. Sam was curled up in a fetal position on the floor. It was obvious he’d been trying to crawl for help.

“Sammy!” Dean said as he dropped down next to Sam.

“Dean. It...it hurts. I can’t...I can’t...AHHHHHH!” Sam screamed in pain.

Cas put his fingers to Sam’s forehead. “He’s dying, Dean!” he said with urgency and worry.

Y/N gasped. “Oh please no!”

“Damn it! We don’t have a choice now!” Dean looked at Cas. “Do it.”

Cas nodded and a vial of blood materialized in his hand. “Sam, I need you to drink this immediately!”

Sam, who was in no position to argue or even to realize what Cas was giving him, obediently drank the crimson liquid when Cas poured it into his mouth. For a moment nothing happened. Sam simply laid there, suffering in silence. Suddenly he sucked in a gasping breath and then was deathly still.

“Sam. Sammy!” Dean checked for a pulse. It was there but Sam's heart was beating extremely fast.

Cas and Y/N held their breaths along with Dean as they waited for something to change. They didn’t have to wait for long, however. A small pulse of blue light shot outward in a ring from Sam’s body.

Dean looked at Cas. “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know,” was all Cas got out of his mouth before another pulse, this one stronger than the first, was released, “but I think we should back away from him.”

“Not happening,” Dean said firmly. Unfortunately, he wasn’t given a choice as another pulse threw him, Cas and Y/N against the wall. They watched, wide-eyed, as the pulses grew in size, power, and frequency. Suddenly a pulse let loose that was so bright they were all blinded for a moment. When the light died away Sam’s body was surrounded by a rapidly fading blue aura. Once it was gone he groaned. “Sam! Can you hear me?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” Sam said quietly. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment in an effort to get rid of the stuffy feeling in his head. He began to sit up. “What the hell was that stuff, Cas? I feel almost totally better.”

“It was...some of my blood,” Cas said carefully.

Sam’s eyes widened. “What?! Why?”

“I thought it might help,” Y/N said tentatively from her position about three feet away.

Sam looked at her curiously. “Who’re you?”

Y/N took in a shaky breath. “My name’s Y/N. I’m, um,” she put her hand in front of her mouth and tears flooded her eyes, “I’m the one who almost killed you. I’m so sorry,” she said as the tears streamed down her face.

Sam’s expression immediately became one of compassion. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Hey. Are you the hunter who made the demon nuke?”

Y/N nodded.

“You were just trying to kill demons. Hurting me was an accident and....” his sentence was suddenly cut off when he vanished from the room without a trace.

Y/N’s eyes went wide. “Sam?!”

“SAMMY!” Dean yelled.

 


	4. The Cambion

The first thing Sam noticed was that the air around him was suddenly hot and arid, the second thing was that he was sitting on the ground and the third...was the wallaby staring him in the face. “What the hell?!” he said as he scuttled backwards away from the curious animal. He heard a laugh and turned to his right to see a boy about fifteen or sixteen years old standing there. The boy had light brown hair and green eyes.

“It’s alright, Sam,” the boy said with a slight Australian accent, “she won’t hurt you.”

“Who are you? How do you know my name? And...am I in Australia?!” Sam demanded.

The boy smirked. “Yeah, we’re in Australia. I guess you wouldn’t recognize me. I mean, the last time you saw me I wasn’t much taller than Lilly over here,” he said as he scratched the top of the wallaby’s head. “I’m Jesse. Five years ago you told me I’m half demon.”

Memories came flooding back to Sam and he smiled. “Jesse.” He stood up. “I’m so glad you’re okay. What happened to you?”

“Well I’m sure you guessed already,  but I came to Australia to hide out. It was rough at first but a nice couple took me in. I’ve been livin’ here ever since.”

“And your powers?”

“Strong as ever. But at least I’m able to keep myself hidden from the bad guys.”

“You don’t need to hide anymore. Lucifer’s back in his cage,” Sam informed him.

“Yeah, I know.”

Sam was confused. “Then why didn’t you go back to your parents?”

Jesse sighed. “The demons know who they are. If I went back my parents would be in danger.”

“Do they even know you’re alive?”

“Yeah. I send ‘em emails every couple of days.” Jesse laughed a little. “They’re trying to get me to think about college. Can you believe it?”

Sam let out a short laugh through his nose. He back up under the shade of a scraggly tree behind him. “So did you bring me here?”

“Yep,” Jesse said proudly.

“Why?”

“Cause I felt an insanely strong blast of power and I thought it might be someone like me. I wanted to meet ‘em and help ‘em. I traced the power to its source and found you. I didn’t know you were half demon too,” Jesse said with a smile.

“I’m not.”

Jesse’s expression became confused. “But, that power....”

“I do have demon blood in me but I’m human.”

“Then why....? I’ve never felt anything that strong before.”

“Another hunter came up with a poison that kills demons. They dumped it in the water supply where I live and it made me sick. You remember that guy you turned into a doll when we were at your house?”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah.”

“Well he’s an angel and the hunter who made the poison came up with the crazy idea that drinking angel blood would help and it did but I guess it had...side effects? I don’t really know.” Sam’s eyebrows rose for an instant like he’d just realized something. “But you need to send me back. I’m sure Dean’s freaking out right now.”

“Oh jeez. I didn’t think about that. Let’s go.” And with that, Jesse snapped his fingers.

 

 

It had been about five minutes since Sam had vanished and all Dean and Y/N could do was sit and wait while Cas tried to use his powers to find the younger Winchester.

Dean had to do a double take when Sam reappeared right before his eyes. “Sammy!” He hugged Sam. “Where the hell were you, man?” He broke the hug when he saw Jesse. “And who the hell is that?”

 

 

Cas’ face was a mask of concern and deep thought.

Dean was tapping his fingers impatiently. “Well?”

“Honestly, Dean I have no idea. No human has ever ingested angel blood before and I’m sure the fact that it’s also mixed with demon blood further complicates things.” Cas looked at Sam. “But if the power that came from Sam reached far enough to alert Jesse then we have to be extremely cautious.”

“Can you... _do_ anything, Sammy?” Dean asked with trepidation.

It took Sam a moment to get what Dean was saying. “Uh...I don’t know,” he said uncomfortably.

Jesse picked up a mug from Sam’s nightstand. “Here. Try moving this to your hand,” he suggested.

“Okay,” Sam replied with uncertainty. He put out his hand and the cup shot toward him like it was fired out of a gun. It smashed into his hand and he cried out in pain. His fingers had been broken.

Cas quickly put his hand on Sam’s fingers and with a small pulse of light they were instantly healed.

Sam flexed his hand experimentally. “Thanks, Cas.”

Cas gave a small smile. “Of course.”

“Holy shit,” Dean commented.

Sam immediately looked ashamed. “I’m sorry, Dean.”

“For what?” Dean asked.

“I promised I’d never use my powers again...and now they’re worse.”

Dean sighed. “I know, but this is different. You’re not drinking demon blood this time and....”

“Drinking demon blood?!” Y/N repeated with wide eyes. “That wasn’t in the books.”

Sam gave his brother a look of displeasure. “The books. Really?”

Dean cleared his throat. “Yeah, I didn’t have time to mention it before, but she’s a fan,” he said with a wince.

Sam eyed Y/N warily. After his experience with Becky he wasn’t in a hurry to be around more female fans.

“You don’t hafta worry, Sam. I promise I’m not a psycho,” Y/N said, praying Sam would believe her.

Sam thought for a moment. She seemed sincere enough so he smiled. “Okay. But to answer your question, yeah, when we were trying to take down Lilith I was drinking demon blood to amp up my powers. It...it made me crazy. It got to the point where I was a total junky.”

Y/N frowned. “But you don’t do that anymore, right?”

“Right,” Sam confirmed. He ran a hand over the top of his head and sighed. “This is crazy,” he said as he looked at his hand. “I wonder what else I can do.”

“If this is permanent I don’t think there’s anything wrong with exploring your new powers. Because the blood is mixed together the combination is neither angelic nor demonic. It’s something completely new. And I know you’ll use these powers for good,” Cas said with a smile.

Sam returned the smile. “Thanks, Cas. That means a lot.”

“I have an idea,” Jesse said. “What if I trained him? I mean, I’ve been dealing with superpowers since I was eleven.”

Both Sam and Dean’s eyebrows went up. “It might help me avoid a lot of mistakes,” Sam said to Dean.

“Yeah, but let’s make somethin’ to eat before we do anything else. I’m freakin’ starvin’,” Dean replied.

 

 

Y/N watched Sam as he worked in the kitchen making turkey sandwiches. Now that the craziness was done with and she’d had time to feel better her mind was able to focus on the fact that Sam was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

Her heart pounded in her chest while he worked. She hadn’t told the boys but she was in love with Sam and had been for years. Seeing how good looking he was only amplified her feelings. She hadn’t told them because she was afraid they would tell her to get lost; that, and Sam didn’t really know her so a love confession wouldn’t have done much good.

Unfortunately, Dean had noticed her staring. “Jeez, Y/N, take a picture already,” he said quietly so Sam wouldn’t hear.

Y/N’s eyes widened before she could stop them. “What?” she said in a pathetic attempt to seem innocent.

Dean gave her a look that clearly said ‘I’m not falling for it’.

Y/N sighed. “Sorry. He’s just _really_ good looking,” she said with a blush.

“So say something. He’s weird around girls. He won’t know you like him unless you beat him over the head with it.”

“See, that’s just the thing. I don’t wanna beat him over the head with it. He barely knows me.”

Dean snorted a laugh and smirked. “Never stopped me.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Of course it doesn’t. I mean, no offense, Dean but you’re kind of a giant man-whore,” she said with a wince.

Dean’s eyebrows went up a bit and he seemed to think about it for a moment. He finally shrugged and smirked again, this time adding a lecherous leer to his expression.  “Guilty.”

Y/N sighed as Sam came to the table with a stack of plates. He set one down for each of them then got a tray of sandwiches and put them down in the center. “Okay, guys. Dig in.”

When Sam chose to sit next to her Y/N thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest. “Thanks, Sammy,” she said with a shy smile, which quickly vanished when she realized what she’d just called him. Dean and Sam stared at her while Cas, who was oblivious, just started eating his sandwich. “Sam. I meant Sam. I’m sorry!” she sputtered.

Sam cleared his throat. “It’s okay. It’s not as big a deal for me anymore. It was just a surprise,” he said with a reassuring smile.

“Thanks,” Y/N said. She grabbed a sandwich and began to eat.

“So how long have you been a hunter?” Sam asked.

“About six years now. A hunter saved me from a ghost and I learned everything from him. I tend to stick to cases that are within a couple hours drive though. I don’t have the gas money for major travel.”

“We could show you how to get some fake credit cards,” Sam offered.

Y/N shook her head. “Thanks, but what I’m doing is workin’ so far. I find a couple cases a month. It’s enough for me.”

Sam nodded. “Fair enough. So, you’re a fan of the books, huh?”

Y/N winced. “Yeah. Another hunter introduced me to ‘em. I know it sounds weird but you guys kept me from being lonely. After Brian, my hunting partner, died the books were all I had.”

“It’s not weird,” Sam said. “It makes sense actually. Hunting without a partner can be hard.”

“Do you mind if I ask you something personal?” Y/N asked.

“Depends on what it is,” Sam replied.

“How are you back? At the end of ‘Swan Song’ you went to hell.”

“Cas rescued me.”

Y/N smiled and turned to Cas. “You’re awesome.”

“Thank you,” Cas replied with a polite smile.

Y/N turned back to Sam. “You have no idea how much I cried at the end of that book. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Sam and Dean smiled.

“What books are you talkin’ about, mates?” Jesse asked.

“It’s a long story. We’ll tell you later,” Dean answered.

 

 

Jesse looked around the main room with skepticism while Dean and Sam moved the meeting table off to one side. “You sure you don’t wanna go do this in the outback? This place could get pretty banged up if you lose control,” he said to Sam.

Sam nodded. “We’re fine here,” he said as Cas leaned against a wall.

Dean looked at Y/N. “Ya know, now that Sam’s okay you can go if you want.”

“Actually, do you mind if I stay for a couple of days? I’d love to get to hang out with you guys,” Y/N asked hopefully.

“I think it might be too dangerous right now,” Sam replied.

“I’m a hunter. Danger is kinda normal for me.” The boys still looked unsure and that’s when Y/N remembered the way to Dean’s heart was through his stomach. “I can make pie.”

Dean’s head turned toward Y/N in the space of a heartbeat. “You can make pie?”

“Yup. And apple pie is my specialty,” Y/N added with a smirk.

Sam saw the gears in Dean’s head turning and gave him a look. “Dude,” he said with disapproval as his head tipped to one side.

“Sammy. She can make pie," Dean said with determination.

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. “Alright. I give up.”

Y/N grinned. “Yes!” she said balling her hands into triumphant fists in front of herself.

“You guys should take cover just in case something goes sideways,” Sam said.

Dean, Cas, and Y/N moved to the top of the staircase where they could be safe but still watch and Jesse put a pillow on the floor for Sam to work with.

“You ready, Sam?” Jesse asked.

Sam nodded. “Let’s do this.”


	5. Lessons

“Okay. Try picking the pillow up. And don’t put a lot of power into it,” Jesse instructed.

Sam nodded, held out his hand and concentrated. The pillow shuddered and lifted into the air to a height of five feet, then hovered there. A grin spread across his face.

“Nice work, mate,” Jesse said with approval.

“Thanks.” Sam lifted the pillow again and this time felt confident enough to make it flip around in the air.

“Wow. You sure do catch on quick,” Jesse commented.

“It’s like when I used my powers before. I just had to give it less juice. It’s easy now,” Sam explained happily. “What’s next?”

Jesse cocked an eyebrow. “Gimme half a tick. I wasn’t expecting you to master that so fast,” he said with a light chuckle.

Sam’s phone rang. “Hang on a sec.” He accepted the call. “Hey, Jenny. No I haven’t.” After about thirty seconds of silence, his eyes flashed wide. “What?!” He paced back and forth as the three on the balcony ran down the stairs.

“What’s goin’ on, Sammy?” Dean asked.

Sam held up a finger to silence his brother. “Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Jenny.” After he ended the call he looked at Dean. “Twenty-two more demons were killed by the nuke. Dean...the furthest one was a hundred miles out,” he said in amazement.

Dean’s eyes widened and he turned to Y/N.

Y/N shook her head. “That’s impossible. The Lawrence water supply was my test run.”

Cas stepped to the middle of the group. “I think...it may have been Sam.”

Sam stared at Cas. “What?”

“When you drank my blood an enormous amount of power came from your body. I think it did this,” Cas explained.

Sam swallowed hard. “Wow.”

“Wanna try teleportation next?” Jesse asked.

Sam’s eyebrows went up. “You think I can do that?”

“Only one way to find out,” Jesse responded with a smile. “Stay right there.” He backed up to the other side of the room. “Okay. Think of yourself disappearing and then reappearing next to me.”

Sam took a breath and concentrated. After a moment he vanished but didn’t appear next to Jesse. Everyone looked around and started calling Sam’s name.

“I’m over here!” Sam yelled from somewhere down the hallway.

The group moved to the hallway and, sure enough, there was Sam, all the way down at the end. He jogged back to the main room. “I think I tried too hard,” he said with a sheepish grin.

“Just a mite,” Jesse said with a half laugh. “Let’s try that again.”

Everyone retook their places and waited. Sam concentrated and teleported a mere two feet in front of him.

Dean snickered and Sam shot him a look. “Shut up,” he said with a short laugh. He tried again and appeared right in front of Jesse. “Holy crap. I can teleport,” he said in amazement. “This is insane.”

“Insanely cool,” Y/N said with a grin.

Sam smiled at Y/N. It was the first time anyone had ever made him feel good about using his powers. “Thanks.”

Y/N’s heart sang at having Sam’s smile directed at her.

Jesse smiled widely. “Bonza job, mate. Just remember, you can’t teleport safely unless you have an image of the exact spot you wanna go to in your head, so stick to places you’ve been to.”

Sam nodded. “Okay.”

“I found that out the hard way the first time I went to Australia. I appeared about eighty yards off shore. I was almost minnow chow.”

“Minnows? Aren’t those a little small to eat a person?” Dean asked.

“Sorry. I meant sharks,” Jesse explained.

Sam’s eyebrows went up. “Got it,” he said stiffly.

“The other things I can do are shake the ground and exorcize demons,” Jesse said.

“I already know how to exorcize demons so let’s try the ground shake.  How do I do it?”

Jesse shrugged. “Honestly? I don’t know. It just happens sometimes when I’m pissed.”

Sam frowned. He concentrated for at least a minute but nothing happened.  He sighed. “Oh well, it wouldn’t have been very useful anyway.”

“Well I guess that’s it then,” Jesse said as he held out his hand. “Good luck, Sam.”

Sam smiled and shook Jesse’s hand. “You too.”

“Later.” And with that, Jesse vanished.

“Sam,” Cas said.

Sam turned to the angel. “Yeah, Cas?”

“We should explore potential angelic powers too,” Cas pointed out.

Sam’s eyebrows rose. “Like what?”

“Well, healing for one.”

Sam’s eyelids fluttered in surprise. “Oh....” He shrugged. “Okay.” He took a knife out of his pocket and made a small cut on his arm. “What do I do?”

Cas thought for a moment. “The best way I can describe it is to imagine the body returning to a healthy state. With angels their grace does the rest but you don’t have grace so I’m not sure if the technique is the same.”

Sam put his hand on his arm. After a moment a blue light emanated from his hand and when he pulled it away the cut he’d made was completely healed. “Wow,” he breathed.

Cas smiled. “You did well, Sam. Although I _was_ surprised by the color of the light. I assumed it would’ve been white.”

“Well you did say this is all new, man,” Dean pointed out.

Cas looked at Dean. “True.” He turned back to Sam. “The other power you might have is smiting demons.”

The memory of killing Kevin flashed through Sam’s mind and he shuddered. “No...I can’t do that,” he said with a pained expression.

Cas looked at Sam with sympathy. “Understandable.”

Y/N looked from Cas to Sam. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s private,” Sam answered quietly.

“Oh. Sorry,” Y/N said with a wince.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sam said solemnly.

 

 

The next day Sam walked by a small room he and Dean had converted into a pseudo-living room to see Y/N watching some sci-fi show on their widescreen TV.

Y/N looked at Sam when she heard his footsteps and smiled. “Morning, Sam.”

Sam smiled. “Morning. Whachya watchin’?”

“You’ve never seen Firefly?!” Y/N asked with wide eyes.

Sam shrugged. “It looked interesting but I didn’t watch it cause it got canceled so fast.”

“Trust me. It’s an _amazing_ series. And they did finish the storyline in the movie,” Y/N pointed out.

Sam’s mouth twisted sideways in thought as he considered what Y/N had said. “Hmm.”

“Come watch the first couple episodes with me,” Y/N said, patting the cushion beside her on the blue couch.

Sam smiled. “Okay. But lemme get some breakfast first.”

 

 

“Dean would love this. He’s a huge western nut,” Sam said after a few episodes.

Y/N laughed. “Yeah, it pretty much _is_ a western in space.

While Y/N’s attention turned back to the TV Sam took a moment to check her out. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a blue, V-neck T-shirt that showed just the right amount of cleavage. He definitely liked what he saw.

“Sam,” Dean’s voice echoed from down the hallway.

“TV room,” Sam replied.

Dean appeared in the doorway. “Got us a case.” He looked at the TV. “What show is that?”

“Firefly,” Sam replied. “It’s really good.”

Y/N’s face broke into a wide smile when she heard that.

 

 

“Okay. So, Auburn Massachusetts,” Dean said, tapping the news article on the laptop screen. “Two people won the lottery, a woman’s son woke up from a five-year coma, and a man was suddenly cured of stage four brain cancer. And all this happened in the last week.”

“Sounds like demon deals,” Sam and Y/N said in unison. They looked at each other in surprise and laughed.

“You guys mind if I go?” Y/N asked.

“Don’t see why not,” Dean answered.

“Cool,” Y/N said happily.

Cas walked into the room. “Hey, Cas,” Dean said.

Cas smiled. “Hey.”

“Cas, we’re goin’ on a demon hunt. Wanna come?” Y/N asked.

Cas suddenly looked uncomfortable. “I can’t go. I’ve been told suck at hunting.”

“Oh please,” Y/N said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You’re Castiel. Your name is synonymous with badass,” she said with a smile.

Cas returned the smile. “Thanks, but it’s not my fighting skills that are the problem. It’s my lack of people skills.”

Understanding dawned on Y/N’s face. “Ooooh. I see.”

“Let’s move,” Dean said. “Later Cas.”

“Later,” Cas replied. As he watched them go he decided to ask Sam and Dean to give him people skill lessons so he could join them on a hunt one day.

 

 

Once they were in the garage Y/N made a beeline for Baby. “She’s just as beautiful as I imagined,” she said in awe as she ran her hand along the roof.

Dean grinned. “Glad you appreciate the classics.”

Y/N turned to Dean. “Oh, I love older cars. Cars today are just boxes with wheels.” She looked back to Baby. “These had personality.”

“You’re damn right,” Dean said with approval.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Should I leave the three of you alone?”

Dean snorted. “Can  it, Sammy.”

 

 

About six hours into the drive Dean noticed how quiet Y/N had gotten. “She asleep?” he asked Sam as he nodded toward the back seat.

Sam look to see Y/N leaned against the window with her eyes shut and breathing in a slow, steady rhythm. “Yeah.”

“So, what do you think of her?” Dean asked.

“Why? You interested in her?”

“Nah. I will admit she’s kinda hot but she’s five three at the most. I like taller chicks.”

Sam laughed and looked back at Y/N again. “I like her. She’s fun. And like you said, she’s hot.”

“So are _you_ interested in her?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” Sam said with a smile. “But all these new powers.... I wanna get comfortable with ‘em before I say anything.”

Dean shrugged. “Makes sense I guess.”

Silence.

“She promised to make pie when we get home,” Dean said with a grin.

Sam laughed. “We should find a motel. It’s getting late.”

 

 

Sam walked up to the house of one of the lottery winners. He wore a green dress shirt, black slacks, and a fake reporter’s ID badge. When he knocked on the door it opened to reveal a man in his mid-forties with short, brown hair holding a martini in his left hand. A busty, red-haired woman hung off his right arm. “Yeah?” he asked. He was obviously drunk.

 _This is gonna be easy,_ Sam thought. “Are you Mister Reese?”

Mister Reese grinned. “The one and only.”

“My name’s Sam and I’m with the Telegram and Gazette. I’d like to interview you about winning the lottery.”

“Of course.” Mister Reese turned to the woman. “I’ll be on the porch for a few minutes, babe.”

The woman smiled. “Okay.” She gave Mister Reese a kiss and went inside.

Sam and Mister Reese sat on some white deck chairs across from each other. “So, Mister Reese....” Sam began.

“Tom, please,” Mister Reese said pleasantly.

Sam nodded. “Tom. It looks like winning’s brought you some good things,” he said, lifting his chin toward the house with a smile.

Tom grinned. “Women do love a man with money.”

Sam put a notepad on his lap and clicked the button on the top of his pen. “So, what was it like when you got the call?”

“Amazing. My life was in the crapper. I’d just lost my job and totaled my car. I was even seeing a crisis counselor. She told me this crazy way to make a wish. I didn’t really believe it but I was so low I didn’t care. So I tried it and bam!; I’m rich.”

Sam knew a red flag when he heard one. He faked a laugh. “What’d she tell you to do? Sell her your soul?”

Tom’s expression became surprised. “Actually, yeah. How’d you know?”

Sam shrugged. “Lucky guess.”

 “Of course, I don’t believe in souls but I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, you know?”

Sam laughed again. “Who would?”

 

 

Dean was sitting on a brown couch in the home of the woman whose son had woken from a coma when he got a text from Sam. He excused himself and read it.

Ask her if she saw a crisis counselor. Mister Reese says his crisis counselor, Stacy Mason, told him she’d give him a wish for his soul.

Dean’s eyebrow rose for a second and he turned back to the woman.

“Everything alright?” the woman asked.

Dean nodded. “Yeah.” He put his phone away. “When Jason was in the coma did you see a crisis counselor?”

“Yeah. It really helped a lot.”

“Mind if I have the name of the counselor for the article?”

“Sure. Her name’s Stacey Mason.”

 


	6. The Inner Light

“Mine had the same counselor,” Y/N confirmed once she, Dean and Sam were back at the motel room.

“We have our connection then,” Sam said as he typed on his laptop. “Her office closes at five.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Dean said as he stood and grabbed the demon-killing knife. He took a step toward the door but stopped when he saw Y/N pull a small Super Soaker water gun from her bag.

“What?” Y/N said when she caught Dean’s stare. “It’s filled with holy water.”

“A flask works just fine,” Dean stated.

Y/N cocked an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? In the time it takes you ta take off the cap a demon could brain you, not to mention range and accuracy issues.”

“She does make some good points, Dean,” Sam said. He turned to Y/N. “You got anymore of those?”

Y/N smiled. “I always carry a spare.” She pulled out another gun and handed it to Sam. “Preloaded, of course.”

“Of course,” Sam said with a smile.

 

 

Stacey Mason came out of the mental health clinic the hunters were watching, got in her car and drove off. Dean put Baby into drive and followed her to a yellow house. He parked across the street and turned to Y/N. “You up for goin’ in first?”

“We’re not going in together?” Y/N asked in confusion.

“Demons know our faces,” Dean answered as he pointed to himself and Sam. “We have a better chance of her opening the door for you.”

Y/N nodded. “Right.” She tucked her water pistol in the back of her suit pants next to her gun. “I’ll see if I can get the bathroom window open.”

“Be careful,” Sam said as Y/N exited the car.

Y/N turned back to Sam with a smile. “Always am.” She walked up to the door and knocked. After a moment Stacey opened the door. She was tall, with short brown hair cut in a bob. Her power skirt suit was royal purple.

“Miss Mason?” Y/N asked.

“Yes.”

Y/N took out her fake FBI badge. “I’m agent Swift with the FBI.”

Stacey opened the door wider. “What can I do for you, Agent?”

“I’m investigating the recent lottery winners for potential fraud. I was told both of them were your patients. Would you mind if I came in for a moment to ask you some questions about them?”

“Of course; As long as you don’t ask about confidential patient information.”

“Not a problem,” Y/N said.

“Come on in then.”

Y/N and Stacey went inside and shut the door. Sam and Dean took that as their cue and walked around the back of the house.

“Please, have a seat,” Stacey said, gesturing to the black leather couch in the living room.

Y/N smiled. “Thank you.” She was about to sit and then looked like she’d just thought of something. “Actually, do you mind if I use your restroom? It’s been a long drive.”

“Certainly. It’s down the hall, second door on your right.”

“Thank you.”

Y/N went to the bathroom and opened the window. A moment later the boys were climbing through.

“Everything going okay?” Dean asked.

Y/N nodded. “Yeah. You guys stay here till you hear a struggle then come out.”

“The point of me and Sam comin’ in was so we can take her on together,” Dean pointed out.

“Just trust me. I could do this in my sleep,” Y/N said with a grin.

Sam and Dean looked at each other with wary glances as Y/N left the room.

“Sorry about that,” Y/N said as she took off her agent coat. She moved like she was going to sit down next to Stacey and in one swift motion opened her coat and covered Stacey with it.

Sam and Dean heard yelling and bolted into the room. The scene that met their eyes stunned them into silence. Y/N was sitting on the couch patiently awaiting their arrival. Stacey was also on the couch,  covered in Y/N’s coat, unable to move and screeching at the top of her lungs.

“Damn hunters!” Stacey looked at the coat. “What the hell is this?!” she demanded.

“There’s a demon trap embroidered on the inside of that coat. You’re not going anywhere,” Y/N said with a smirk.

Sam smirked as well and nodded in approval. “Smart.”

Y/N blushed. “Thanks.” She turned toward Stacey. “She’s all yours, Sam.”

Sam’s eyebrows rose. “All mine?”

“Yeah. Don’t you wanna give your new powers a workout?” Y/N asked.

“Oh. Good point,” Sam said as he turned to Stacey.

Stacey’s eyes flattened into a nervous glare. “You’re bluffing, Winchester. You stopped blood binging a long time ago.”

Sam held up his hand. “I don’t need it anymore.”

Stacey’s eyes widened. “Wait! I can be useful!”

Sam’s hand lowered a bit. “How?”

“I’m Asmodeus' bookkeeper. I can give you the names of all the topside demons,” Stacey said.

Sam considered this for a brief moment. “Okay. Give us the names and I’ll exorcise you instead of killing you.”

“In my desk over there you’ll find the list,” Stacey said, pointing at a redwood stained writing desk.

Dean pulled open the top drawer, took out a stapled stack of paper about an inch thick, flipped through the list and smiled. “Looks legit, Sammy.”

“Okay.” Sam held up his hand and after a few seconds the demon was exorcised.

 

 

Back at the bunker, Cas flipped the pages of the list in disbelief. “This is incredible.”

“We’re givin’ the names of the ones furthest away to other hunters but we can take care of the rest,” Dean said. “We want you with us, Cas. This could take months and we need all the muscle we can get.”

Cas nodded, resisting the urge to grin at the fact that they wanted him along. “Of course.”

 

 

They parked in the center of Wichita, Kansas and got out of the Impala. The summer sun scorched the Earth as they headed to an abandoned parking lot and stopped under the shade of a young oak tree.

“Okay, Cas. So why are we here instead of going straight to the demons in this town?” Sam asked.

“As I said a moment ago I think this will speed things up. Now, Sam, close your eyes and try to feel all the humans within your range.”

Sam’s expression was uncertain but he did as instructed. “Okay.” After a moment his eyebrows rose and he took in a quick, deep breath. “Wow. I can feel them all. This is crazy.”

Cas smiled. “Very good. Now, among the humans some of them should feel wrong...dark.”

“Yeah. Those are the demons, right?”

“Yes. How many do you feel?”

“This doesn’t make sense. I feel at least eight. But this town only has two.”

“I thought so. You may open your eyes for now.”

“What’s goin’ on, Cas?” Dean asked.

Cas flipped through the list, counting the number of demons near the town they were in. “Sam’s count is correct. His range seems to be about ten miles. If I’m right, he can kill them all without moving from this spot,” he explained.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious?” Y/N asked.

“Wow,” Sam breathed.

Dean’s expression morphed into a grin. “Well, damn, Sammy. Get to it.”

Sam smiled and was about to use his power when he suddenly felt a hand on his arm. He looked down to see Y/N staring at him with concern.

“Sam, wait!”

“What?”

“What if the demons are driving or using a big knife to make dinner? Or something else like that? You could get the humans killed,” Y/N explained.

Sam frowned. “We could wait till tonight. Say around four AM? Most people are asleep by then.”

“I guess,” Y/N replied with uncertainty.

Dean put a hand on Y/N’s shoulder. “Even if there are a few casualties this’ll be the most possessed people we’ve been able to save in a _long_ time.”

Y/N seemed comforted by that thought. “You got a point.”

 

 

That night they returned to the abandoned parking lot. Everyone took cover behind some trees six feet away from Sam and waited.

Sam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. After a moment a blue aura of light emanated from his body and blasted outwards...but this time there was no impact like there had been before. This time the ring of light simply passed harmlessly through everyone.

Once the light had died down a bit Dean, Cas and Y/N came out from behind the trees and stopped dead in their tracks. Everyone just stood there, open-mouthed and stared at Sam. Coming from his back were a pair of wings made entirely from light. 

“This is impossible,” Cas breathed in awe.

Sam looked at him and walked closer to Cas, obviously oblivious to what was going on. “What’s impossible, Cas?”

When Sam got close enough for everyone to see his eyes, _their_ eyes widened further.  His eyes were solid blue. It was like when a demon showed its eyes. The only difference was the color.

Dean regained enough of his mental faculties to pull out his cell and take a picture. “ _This_ is what’s impossible, Sammy,” he said, holding up the picture for his brother to see.

Sam gasped in shock. His wings faded out and his eyes went back to normal. “What the hell is goin’ on, Cas?”

Cas sighed. “I don’t know, but I think it’s safe to say you shouldn’t use your powers in front of strangers for now.”


	7. Emmanuel

They had returned to the bunker for the time being so Cas could learn more about Sam’s new physical attributes. They were in the main room and Sam had built up some power so his wings showed.

Cas walked behind the younger Winchester. “May I have permission to touch your wings, Sam?”

“Sure, Cas, but you really didn’t need to ask,” Sam answered with a smile.

Cas looked a tad uncomfortable. “For angels, wings are not something to be touch without permission. They are...very sensitive.”

Sam wasn’t sure but he thought he saw Cas blush a little when he said that.

Cas tentatively ran a hand along the edge of Sam’s right wing. “They’re not true wings.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re made entirely of soul energy.”

“You mean we’re seeing part of his soul right now?!” Dean asked, eyebrows raised.

Cas shook his head. “No. You’re just seeing the energy produced by his soul.”

“I thought you said wings were sensitive.  I barely felt you touch them,” Sam said.

“As I said, they’re not true wings so the same rules don’t apply,” Cas answered. “You can put them away now.”

Sam did as instructed. “What about my eyes though?”

Cas shrugged. “Just another side effect of using your powers I suppose.”

Y/N looked up from her laptop. “Hey, guys, there’s news about Wichita.”

Everyone crowded around the laptop and Y/N unplugged her earbuds from the speakers.

A male reporter in a sports jacket and black slacks began talking. _The same phenomenon was reported in Lawrence just two days ago. All eight people have been admitted to the ER but only as a precaution. As for the light reported coming from their bodies, the police believe it’s most likely some kind of hallucination._

Y/N turned off the speakers and closed the laptop. “Hallucination, my ass,” she said with a grin.

Dean smiled widely. “Good job, Sammy.”

“Thanks,” Sam replied happily. “So, where to next?”

 

 

After taking out thirty-nine demons the group decided on a little R&R. They found a motel with a pool in Colorado and checked in. Sam and Dean shared one bed and Y/N took the other. Since Cas didn’t need to sleep he sat in a plush armchair and read the first “Hunger Games” book. It had been Sam’s idea and although he’d been hesitant at first he found that he was really enjoying it so far.  He barely noticed when the sun rose and then a few hours later when Dean stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Cas was so engrossed in the book that the first time someone knocked on the door to their room he hadn’t heard it. A second knock came that was louder than the first causing Dean to poke his head out of the bathroom doorway. “Cas, you gonna get that?” he said loudly.

Cas came out of his reading induced daze and put the book down. “Yeah. Sorry.” He stood, walked over to the door, opened it...and froze. In front of him was a face he never thought he’d see again. “Daphne....”

And it was Daphne; the woman who had rescued Cas and become his wife three years ago. She stared at him, eyes shining with tears. “Emmanuel?”

“Daphne...I....” Cas sputtered as Dean came out of the bathroom fully dressed.

“Emmanuel!” Daphne cried before wrapping her arms around him and kissing him.

Dean blinked in surprise and felt a twinge of jealousy at seeing the kiss. He walked up closer to Cas.

Cas pushed Daphne back. “How did you find me?”

“I heard about all the people who were passing out after a strange light came from their bodies and I remembered when Dean killed that demon on our porch there was a light. I followed the trail of reports and checked every motel near them.” Daphne smiled broadly. “And I found you, at last.” She then noticed Dean standing behind Cas and her smile faded. “Why didn’t you bring him back to me after he healed your brother?”

Dean didn’t know what to say. How could he explain that her “husband” was an angel? “I...uh....”

Cas swallowed and his eyes darted all over the place as he tried to come up with an excuse. He then remembered how Hanna had convinced her vessel’s husband to leave. He took Dean’s hand, which got him a very strange look from the hunter. “Daphne, I’m so sorry, but I regained my memory.” He looked at Dean. “And he’s my boyfriend.”

It took all of Dean’s willpower not to make a very undignified choking sound, but he managed it because he knew what Cas was trying to do.

Daphne’s expression fell. “What? But you just met him when he saved me.”

Cas shook his head. “No. He may have found me _again_ because of my powers but he recognized me when he saw me. He just didn’t say so at the time because my memory was gone.”

Tears flowed down Daphne’s cheeks. “I don’t believe it. I can’t believe God would send you to me and then take you away. You’re lying. Why are you lying?” she demanded.

Cas did the only thing he could think of and, praying his friend wouldn’t be angry with him for it, kissed Dean.

Dean’s eyes widened for a moment when the angel’s lips crashed into his own. He forced himself not to move away because he didn’t want to blow Cas’ cover.

Cas began moving his lips, deepening the kiss.

Dean had to admit that it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. In fact, he was kind of liking it a bit. He didn’t realize just how _much_ he’d liked it until Cas ended it and moved back. Dean couldn’t stop the fleeting feeling of disappointment and it frustrated the hell out of him.

Cas turned back to Daphne who’s expression had changed to one of defeat and loss. “Alright, Emmanuel. I believe you.” Her tears had become rivers and her body shuddered as it became wracked with sobs. “But I wish it wasn’t true.”

“I’m sorry, Daphne,” Cas said.

“I...I’ll leave you alone,” Daphne said with a sob.

“I hope you find happiness. You definitely deserve it,” Cas said with compassion.

Daphne nodded. “Goodbye, Emmanuel.”

Cas nodded solemnly. “Goodbye.” He watched as she turned around and walked away. While he wished he could do something to make her feel better he knew he’d done the right thing.

Dean heard a sound behind him and turned to see Sam and Y/N standing there with their jaws on the floor. “Guys. This...this isn’t what it looks like,” he sputtered while gesturing wildly with his hands.

Sam blinked back his dazed state. “Then tell me what else it could be, Dean,” he said, his expression morphing into a smile.

“Cas was just trying to give Daphne a reason to leave.”

“He’s right, Sam,” Cas confirmed even though he had enjoyed it.

Sam’s smile fell away. “Oh...makes sense, I guess.”

Dean was confused for a moment but then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Wait...are you disappointed?!”

Sam looked taken aback. “No no! I was just teasing.” He looked at the clock on the nightstand. “It’s almost ten. I’m gonna go get breakfast before they stop serving it,” and with that, he was out the door.

 

 


	8. Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y/N/N = Your Nick Name

Sam had lied to Dean. Nothing new. Heck, for them it was par for the course. But this time it was different. This time he’d lied because he just didn’t know what to say. Exactly how was he supposed to tell him that, yes, he was disappointed, because he was tired of them dancing around each other? How was he supposed to tell him how uncomfortable it made him when they were all together and his brother and the angel spent half the time having eye sex?

He’d suspected Dean was bi for awhile now; ever since Dean had reacted the way he did to Doctor Sexy when they were stuck in TV land. After that, the way Dean and Cas acted around each other made mountains more sense.

He wasn’t sure when the unintentional flirting had turned into love but he knew for damn sure that Cas was head over heals for his brother. He just didn’t know why Cas never said anything. Maybe he just didn’t know what love felt like?

Dean’s feelings hadn’t become love until much later. Sam started to think his brother loved Cas not long after he’d saved Sam’s life by taking on the burden of his hallucinations.

Sam pulled into the McDonalds parking lot, turned off the car, let his head rest wearily on the steering wheel, and sighed.

 

 

Cas took a deep breath and turned to his friend. “Dean, I....”

Dean held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it, Cas. I know why you did that. We’re cool.”

“So you’re not angry?” Cas asked hopefully.

Dean shook his head and smiled. “No. It was friggin’ weird, but no.” What he left out was that he was dying to kiss him again.

Cas smiled but when Dean turned away to grab his beer off the table that smile faded into the sad, wistful look he often wore when Dean wasn’t looking. He could never tell Dean how he felt. What would be the point? Dean wasn’t interested in men and Cas was a male angel.

Dean took a swig of his beer. “I’m gonna go check the list; see where our next hit is.”

“Hey, Dean?” Y/N said.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think we could go back to the bunker for a bit first?”

Dean cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I could use a break. Not to mention I never got to make you that pie I promised cause we’ve been on the move so much,” Y/N said with a smile.

Dean nodded and smiled. “There is that. I’ll run it by Sam when he gets back.”

 

 

Sam yawned as he, Dean, Cas, and Y/N shuffled into the bunker later that night, causing Y/N to yawn as well.

“Okay. That’s your fault,” she said with a smile in the middle of her yawn.

Sam chuckled. “Sorry.”

Sam, Cas and Y/N walked down the stairs. Once they were about halfway down Dean came through the front door. He was a little more unsettled by the kiss than he’d let on, so while he wasn’t exactly _avoiding_ Cas he _was_ making sure he didn’t follow him too closely. He just needed some space.

 

 

Lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling of his room was _not_ the best way to distract himself from the frustrating feelings swirling around in Dean’s head. He knew he was bi. He’d stuck to the ladies because that’s what he preferred and he'd always been able to push his attraction to men aside...but that was before Cas entered his life. He’d lost track of how many times he had stared at the angel and on several occasions, his gaze had even wandered South.

He'd realized he was in love with his best friend a few years ago but never acted on it because there was just no way he was good enough to be with an angel. Not to mention he didn't even know if Cas was capable of those kinds of feelings.

Until now he’d been able to shrug off what he felt for Cas, but that kiss....  When Cas’ lips had touched his electricity shot through his body like a bullet. His hormones were screaming for more but he’d managed to keep himself in check.

He just laid there, trying to come up with excuses for the way he felt. In the end, he closed his eyes in defeat and sighed. There was no getting around the love he felt...and he hated it.

 

 

Once everyone else had gone to sleep Cas occupied his time by taking a walk. The night air was crisp and refreshing but he barely noticed it.

He’d finally been able to kiss Dean. He’d been wanting to do it since not long after God had brought him back the first time. But he knew his friend was straight so he never said anything out of respect for Dean’s feelings.

He thought back to when he’d had sex with April, and although he’d enjoyed it a lot she wasn’t who he truly wanted to be with. He’d done it for two reasons; one, it seemed the only way to quiet his newly raging human libido and two, he was lonely. He’d thought maybe he could fill the void with someone other than the true object of his affection but he was wrong.

He remembered when Dean had said to him **“The last time someone looked at me like that, I got laid.”** and Cas had slammed the door to the panic room shut in response. He’d slammed it, not because he was annoyed, but to keep Dean from seeing his inner turmoil, which he knew was written all over his face.

He wished he could go to Heaven. He found it easier to keep his mind off of Dean while he was there. Perhaps it was because when he was there he wasn’t on the same planet as the man he felt so deeply for. He wasn’t sure.

The sun began to rise and he decided to head home. Yes, he’d finally been able to kiss Dean...but now he felt even worse.

 

 

Dean was awoken that morning at eleven fifteen am by a smell that immediately made his mouth water. He quickly used the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen. He knew what would be waiting for him before he even got there.

Y/N was standing in front of the counter, waving her hand over the huge apple pie that sat on it in an effort to cool it off. She turned around when she heard the footsteps behind her and smiled. “Good morning, Dean.”

Dean grinned. “ _Good_ morning? I’m filing this under ‘great’!”

Y/N’s smile widened and she proceeded to cut a slice of pie and set it on a plate. She then handed it to Dean, along with a fork.

“Thanks,” Dean said as he sat down at the table. He took a bite of the pie and his eyes closed in pleasure. “Oh my God.”

“You like it?” Y/N asked.

He swallowed half the bite and replied. “I think I just had a pie-gasm,” he said as Sam walked in.

Y/N laughed happily.

“You’re adorable, you know that?” Sam said to Y/N with a smile.

Y/N blushed furiously and looked off to one side. “Thanks.”

Sam turned to Dean. “Pie-gasm?” he said with a mocking smirk.

Dean swallowed the rest of his bite. “Shut up.”

“You want some, Sam?” Y/N asked.

Sam nodded. “Sure.” He sat down at the table and Y/N put a plate of pie in front of him. He took a bite. His eyebrows rose and he nodded in approval. “Wow. This is really good.”

Y/N beamed with pride. “Thanks! And a friend of mine told me you’re into organic foods so all the ingredients are organic. I even made the butter myself.”

Dean gave Y/N a look of disbelief. “You _made_ the butter?”

“Yup. It’s easy. It’s just heavy whipping cream and salt. And now we have fresh buttermilk I can make pancakes with.”

“Awesome,” Dean said with approval.

“Can you show me how you made the butter later?” Sam asked with a smile.

“Sure!” Y/N chirped. She looked at a clock on the wall. “Well, you guys enjoy. I gotta go online and look for an apartment.”

“I thought you had a place?” Sam asked.

“I do, but my lease is up in two weeks and the landlord is raising the rent out of my price range. Customer service doesn’t pay much,” Y/N said with a shrug.

Sam frowned as Y/N left the room. Dean could practically see the wheels in his brother’s head turning. “What’s up?”

“What do you think about letting her stay here till she finds a new place?” Sam replied.

Dean’s eyebrows rose for a moment and then he thought about it. “Well, she does make good pie,” he said finally with a smile.

Sam grinned. “I’ll go tell her.”

 

 

In the library, Y/N sighed as she scrolled through the apartments on Craig’s List. “Too expensive. Too expensive....” she felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped a little before looking up. “Oh. Hey, Sam.”

“Hey,” Sam said. He sat down at the table. “Got a question for ya.”

Y/N cocked her head to one side. “Yeah?”

“Do you wanna stay here till you find an apartment?”

Y/N’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened to their fullest capacity. “Really?!” she squeaked as her expression morphed into one of disbelief and joy.

Sam nodded. “Yeah.”

Y/N jumped up and hugged Sam. “Thank you so much!” She broke the hug and closed her laptop. “I’m gonna go get my stuff!” she said excitedly before heading off toward the garage.

Sam laughed. “Wait for me, Y/N/N. I’ll help.”

 

 

“Hope you don’t mind me calling you Y/N/N,” Sam said as he and Y/N/N got into her tan Mercury Sable.

“Most people wind up callin’ me Y/N/N eventually.”

Sam pointed at a plastic, blue tie that hung from the rearview mirror. “What’s this?”

Y/N/N looked a little embarrassed. “You’ll laugh.”

“Tell me anyway,” Sam prodded playfully.

“I named my car Castiel cause it’s tan and that’s his tie.”

Now that the tie made sense Sam chuckled. “That’s cute.”

Y/N/N smiled.

 

 

Packing Y/N/N’s place didn’t take long because all the furniture belonged to the landlord.

“I’m surprised you had so little stuff,” Sam commented as he and Y/N/N walked back to the car with the last of the boxes.

“Except for my DVD collection I’ve never needed much. Long as I got the net and my shows I’m happy,” Y/N/N replied. She gave the bungee cord holding down the mattress on the car roof a tug to make sure it was secure.

They put the boxes in the car and drove off.

 

 

“Thanks again for letting me stay with you guys. It really takes the pressure off of finding a new place now that there’s no time limit,” Y/N/N said with a smile.

“No problem. Besides, you’re fun to have around.”

Y/N/N blushed. “Thanks.”

Silence.

“Was Cas able to get Adam out too?” Y/N/N asked carefully.

Sam sighed sadly. “No.”

Y/N/N frowned. “How come?”

“He wasn’t even able to get me out in one piece.”

“Huh?”

“He got my body out...but not my soul.”

Y/N/N’s eyes widened. “You’re...soulless?” she said in a quiet, horrified tone.

Sam shook his head. “I was, for about a year and a half, but somehow Dean convinced Death to get my soul back.”

Y/N/N’s relief was nearly palpable. “Oh thank God. But how’d Dean manage that?”

Sam frowned. “I don’t know. He won’t tell me.”

“Well at least you’re okay.”

Sam smiled. “Yeah.”

 

 

Half an hour later Y/N/N pulled her car into the bunker’s garage. As she and Sam were taking her mattress down from the car roof Dean walked in.

“You guys want some help?”

Y/N/N smiled. “Sure. Can you guys get the mattress since you’re closer in height?”

“You got it,” Dean replied.

While the boys picked up the mattress Y/N/N grabbed some boxes and they headed down toward the dorm.

 

 

Dean freed his right hand, turned the knob and gently kicked the door open. “This is the room you can use.”

The room had a bed frame with a box spring on it, some wall shelves, and a night stand. “It’s perfect,” Y/N/N said with a smile. She moved out of the way so the boys could set her mattress down on the bed. “Hey, Dean. You always believed in demons, souls and Hell, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Then why was it so hard for you to believe in God, angels and Heaven before you met Cas?” Y/N/N asked as she set down her boxes.

Dean shrugged. “I had proof demons existed.”

“But wouldn’t it be logical to assume that if one side existed the other did too?”

“Eh. I try not to assume.”

Sam scoffed. “What’re you talking about? You assume all the time.”

Dean glared at his brother. “Not helping, Sammy.”

Sam simply snickered in response.

 

 

Sixteen minutes later Sam placed the last of Y/N/N’s boxes in the hallway so she’d have space to unpack. “Okay, you’re all set.”

Y/N/N smiled gratefully. “Thanks, guys. Hey, Sam, do you play Diablo 3?”

Sam shook his head. “No. But I used to play WoW in college.”

“Why’d you stop?”

Sam smiled. “When I started hunting again it kinda became redundant, you know?”

Y/N/N laughed a little. “I can see that, but for me, it’s nice to kill stuff and not hafta worry about dying for real.”

Sam laughed. “Maybe I’ll....”

A rustle of feathers and Cas was suddenly standing before the group.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted.

“We should get back to work,” Cas stated seriously.

Dean nodded. “Yeah. It ain’t gonna be long before Crowley figures out why he’s losing his goons.” He pulled up the list, which he’d entered into his cell phone. “Looks like our next stop is Fort Summer, New Mexico.”

 

 


	9. Feathers

“What the _bloody_ Hell is going on out there?!” Crowley raged.

“We don’t know, Sir,” replied a female demon with black hair. “Hunters are hitting our people left and right. It’s like they know where everyone is and....”

“And, _what_?” Crowley pushed with a dangerous tone.

“A lot of them are...we don’t know how they’re dying,” the woman said with a wince.

Crowley’s expression became incredulous. “Excuse me?”

“It’s like they’re being smited from a distance.”

Crowley’s jaw clenched in thought. “Keep investigating. Dismissed,” he said with a sharp wave of his hand. Once his minion was gone he picked up his cell and dialed.

 

Sam’s wings faded out and his eyes returned to normal as he completed his latest demon cleansing. He noticed Y/N/N staring at him with a dreamy look. “What?”

Y/N/N shrugged. “Nothing. It’s just your wings are really beautiful.”

Sam smiled and blushed a little. “Thanks.”

 Dean’s cell rang and he looked to see who it was. “Heh. It’s Crowley.” He hit the answer button and put it on speaker. “Crowley, what’s up?” he said in a smug tone.

“You know BLOODY WELL what’s up! I don’t know how you’re doing it but I _know_ it’s you! Back off or I’ll....”

Dean smirked. “Or you’ll what? We both know you got nothin’, else you wouldn’t be callin’ ta bitch and moan.”

“I’ve got nothing? How about the lives of every occupied meat suit in the country?!”

Dean frowned in anger and frustration but he knew what had to be said. “Even if they die, at least they’ll be free.”

“Fine! Then I’ll kill their families!”

Dean’s stomach clenched. He only hoped he was right that Crowley was bluffing. “You wouldn’t do that. It would attract the attention of more hunters.”

“Damn you! I will hunt you down and....”

“Bye Crowley,” And with that, Dean ended the call.

 

 

“Bastard!” Crowley shouted as he slammed his phone down on the end table next to his throne.

  

 

Dean, Sam, and Y/N/N were in a motel room. Y/N/N was on the phone with another hunter who needed advice. “It looks like a komodo dragon on steroids. Yeah. I already told you the saliva doesn’t hurt humans. Okay, Dimitri. Bye.”

“More hunters trying to make your demon nuke?” Sam asked as he watched the news on his laptop.

“Yeah. Any news yet?”

“Nope.”

“I hate waiting like this. Until we see the results of our attacks on the news it’s like the demons are Schrödinger’s cat,” Y/N/N commented.

Sam laughed. “Yeah. I guess they are.”

“What the hell are you two talking about?” Dean asked.

“Schrödinger was a physicist who theorized that a cat in a box with poison gas could be considered both alive and dead until the box was opened,” Sam explained.

“It’s a type of paradox,” Y/N/N added.

Dean looked back and forth between Sam and Y/N/N and shook his head. “Great. Now I hafta deal with _two_ giant nerds.”

Y/N/N cocked an eyebrow. “Excuse me. Sam and I are _geeks_ , not nerds. Nerds have almost no social skills,” she said with mild offense.

Sam laughed but Dean rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He just wasn’t in the mood to deal with stuff he didn’t give a crap about. He let his mind wander back to what he’d been thinking about before, which was Cas’ wings. Ever since Y/N/N had commented on Sam’s wings it was all he could think about.

He’d always assumed the angel’s wings were black but that was because the only way he’d ever seen them was by their shadows. Considering how striking Sam’s pseudo-wings were Dean decided Cas’ must be breathtaking.

A flutter of feathers and Cas was suddenly in the room rifling through Sam’s bag.

“Whachya need, Cas?” Sam asked.

“The next Hunger Games book,” Cas answered without looking up.

Sam smiled. “It’s on the nightstand,” he said as he pointed to the book in question.

Cas stood and retrieved the book. “Thanks.”

Dean couldn’t stand it anymore. “Hey, Cas?”

“Yeah?”

“What color are your wings?”

Cas looked startled by the question. “Why do you need to know?”

“Just curious.”

“They’re brown with black markings like a hawk,” Cas answered simply.

“That sounds cool,” Y/N/N commented.

“Can we see ‘em?” Dean asked.

Cas suddenly looked both sad and ashamed. He swallowed hard. “No.”

Dean frowned. “What’s wrong, Cas?”

Cas averted his eyes. “They were damaged when my grace was taken. They’re...no longer pleasant to look at.”

Dean could’ve sworn Cas sounded close to tears. “Cas I...I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

Cas sighed. “It’s alright.”

Sam suddenly had an idea. “Do you think I could heal your wings, Cas?”

Cas’ expression brightened for an instant but then fell back into despair. He shook his head. “Even my own grace hasn’t healed them.”

“But you only got part of your grace back, right?” Sam asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then what if we combine our powers?”

Cas contemplated this for a moment and a hope he barely dared to accept began to grow in his chest. “I...I don’t know.” He looked at Sam. “But please try.”

Sam smiled and walked up to Cas.

“We should go somewhere more open and away from civilization,” Cas said.

“I saw a state forest about fifteen minutes back the way we came,” Y/N/N offered.

Dean grinned. “Sounds good to me.”

 

 

They stood in the center of a large clearing deep in the forest. Cas looked at Dean. “You and Y/N/N should move back. I have no idea what’ll happen when we try this.”

“Okay, Cas. Good luck,” Dean replied. He and Y/N/N moved to the relative safety of the tree line.

Cas turned to Sam. “Okay. We need to imagine my wings returning to a healthy state.”

“It’s hard to picture something I’ve never seen.”

“Just think of a hawk's wings.”

Sam nodded. “Okay.” He put a hand on Cas’ shoulder. Both men closed their eyes and concentrated. The air around them began to hum with power and before long Sam’s wings appeared behind him.

After about a minute Cas cried out; whether it was from pain or surprise no one was sure. Sam backed up to give him room. There was a blinding flash of light and when it subsided Cas was kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily.

Dean ran up to his friend and Y/N/N followed. 

“Cas!” Dean said as he knelt down next to him. “You okay, man?”

“I think so,” Cas replied as Dean helped him to his feet.

“Did it work?” Dean asked.

Cas took a deep breath and brought his wings forward so he could see them. The group watched as he gingerly reached out and touched one of the invisible appendages. A tear of joy ran down his face as he stretched his wings out. “Yes.”

Dean heard the snap of Cas’ wings opening and felt the gust of air they created. “Whoa. It’s weird. I always knew you had wings but feeling that wind made them seem more real.”

“Thank you, Sam. There aren't words strong enough to express my gratitude,” Cas said with a somewhat shaky voice.

Sam smiled. “You're family, man. I'm just glad it worked.”

Cas looked like he was deciding something for a moment and then he smiled. “Stand back.”

Everyone did as they were told. A faint light enveloped Cas and everyone watched with rapt attention as his wings quickly faded into view. He spread them wide and couldn’t help the twinge of pride he felt at seeing the expressions on their faces.

Dean had never seen anything so magnificent in his entire life. The angel’s wingspan had to be at least fifteen feet. It made Cas look extremely imposing...and hot as hell.

Cas folded his wings and everyone walked up to him.

“They’re amazing, Cas,” Sam said.

Cas smiled, but his expression changed to concern when he saw a look on Dean’s face that he could only describe as uncertainty. “Dean?”

Dean’s heart hammered in his chest. He had a strong urge to touch Cas’ wings. His breathing became slow and deep as his feet seemed to move of their own accord.

Cas watched Dean close the gap between them with growing trepidation. “Dean?” His unease increased when he saw Dean’s hand reaching toward him. “What are you....?” His eyes flashed wide when he felt the hunter’s hand stroke the top of his left wing. He stiffened and his heart beat like it was trying to escape from his chest. “D...Dean. Please...s...stop that.”

At hearing Cas’ plea Dean suddenly came to his senses. “Sorry, Cas. I couldn’t help myself,” he said awkwardly.

“I...I have to go,” Cas said before vanishing without a trace.

“What was _that_ about?” Y/N/N asked in confusion.

It was then Sam remembered his earlier conversation with Cas about wings. “Cas said angel wings are super sensitive. Maybe when you touched them it hurt?”

Dean chewed the inside of his lower lip. “I don’t know.”

“Why _did_ you touch his wing anyway?” Sam asked.

Not wanting to state the real reason Dean shrugged. “I was just curious.”

“I swear you looked like you were in a trance or something,” Y/N/N commented.

Dean rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”

 

 

Dean rolled over in bed in the motel room and stared at the door. Cas hadn’t come back yet so he was worried he’d offended him somehow.

He let his thoughts drift back to Cas’ wings and felt a shiver run through his body. He never thought wings could be hot but holy shit they were and apparently “little Dean” agreed because he was hard as a rock.

He sighed and went out to the Impala to take care of his “condition” where the others couldn’t see him.

 

 

Castiel Sat in the Bunker watching T.V in an attempt to quiet his raging hormones. Why? Why in the name of his father did Dean have to touch his _wing_ of all things?! He’d told Dean they were sensitive. What he hadn’t told him was _how_ they were sensitive. For angels, the wings were a _major_ erogenous zone.

Fortunately, he knew how to release sexual tension. He always found it amusing that humans thought angels were “junkless”.  They weren’t. Their junk was just a little different. He _was_ in a human vessel though, which changed what he had to do. Thankfully his brief time as a human had allowed him to learn how to pleasure his vessel as well.

Unfortunately, physical pleasure did nothing to quell his unending desire to have Dean touch his wings with the _intention_ of making him aroused.

After a few hours, he decided to head back to the hotel. He had to face Dean at some point and the longer he waited the worse he would feel.

 

 

Dean woke up to the rustle of feathers. “Hey, Cas,” he said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “You okay?”

“You were worried about me?”

“Of course I was, man. You completely freaked out. I thought I pissed you off or something.”

Cas shook his head. “No.”

“What happened then?”

Cas sat on the edge of the bed and sighed, looking a bit uncomfortable. “You know an angel’s wings are sensitive.”

“Yeah. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No. Wings are one of an angel’s most....” He took a calming breath. “erogenous zones,” he said with a blush.

Dean’s eyes went wide as dinner plates. “Oh God. Holy shit, Cas. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright. There’s no way you would’ve known.”

“Well, at least now I know why you bolted.”

“Yeah.”

“Cas, I want you to know I would _never_ touch you like that on purpose.”

Cas’ eyes became sad. “Yeah, I know.”

Dean’s eyes flattened in confusion. “Cas?”

Cas thought fast. “It’s nothing. I’m just...upset about a turn of events in “The Hunger Games”,” he replied, praying Dean would buy it.

Dean smiled. “You’re really into that series, aren’t you?”

Cas nodded. “Yeah. It’s very well written.”

Dean glanced at the clock, which read seven am. “I’m glad you’re okay, man. I need to get some more sleep.”

“Of course. Sleep well then,” Cas said, then he vanished.

Dean sighed. He didn’t believe Cas’ excuse for a second but Cas had already admitted something extremely personal that morning so Dean decided to let it slide. He just hoped it was the right thing to do.

 


	10. Animal Control

Sam and Y/N/N were in the bunker kitchen. Y/N/N poured a quart of heavy cream into a huge bowl.  “Okay, now add one teaspoon of sea salt.”

Sam measured out the salt and dumped it into the cream. “Okay. Now what?”

Y/N/N grinned and held up an electric mixer. “Now we beat it to death.” Sam chuckled and she handed him the mixer. “Put it on max speed.”

 

 

Twelve minutes later Y/N/N saw Sam flinch. “What’s the matter?”

“I think this stuff just spit at me.”

Y/N/N laughed. “It’ll do that. It’s just the buttermilk startin’ ta come out. Stop for a sec.” She took the lid off a Tupperware container. “Pour as much as you can in here without the butter falling out.”

Sam poured out the buttermilk but he did it from too high up and some of it splashed and hit Y/N/N in the face. “Oh jeez. Sorry, Y/N/N.”

Y/N/N laughed. “No worries. It happens.”

Sam grabbed a paper towel, dampened it, and proceeded to clean off Y/N/N’s face. After a few seconds, his hand slowed, then stopped completely and he stared into her eyes.

Y/N/N’s heart skipped a beat but she didn’t dare believe that a guy as amazing and gorgeous as Sam would be interested in her. She decided he must be just fazing out so she snapped him out of it. “Thanks,” she said as she grabbed the paper towel. “I got it from here.” She pointed at the mixing bowl. “You got about two minutes more on that.”

Sam nodded. “Right.”

Sam turned back to the mixing bowl and Y/N/N tried to calm her racing heart.

 

 

The next day everyone headed out to Tuba City in Arizona. “Demon number one hundred twenty-four. You getting tired yet, Sammy?” Dean asked with a grin.

“Never get tired of killing demons,” Sam replied brightly.

“Good answer,” Dean said.

 

 

As they looked for a place where Sam could work away from prying eyes they saw a house that was blocked off with police tape. A cop stood near the road by a cruiser while two more entered the house.

Dean pulled over and looked in the back at Y/N/N and Cas. “You guys stay here. Sam and I got this.”

Y/N/N shrugged. “Okay.”

Sam and Dean walked up to the cop. “Excuse me,” Dean said.

The cop turned to Dean. “Yes?” she said.

“What happened here?” Dean asked.

“Animal attack. Everything’s under control now.”

“Oh. Well, we’re actually with animal control. Mind if we take a look?” Sam asked.

The cop cocked an eyebrow. “You got a strong stomach?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied.

“Knock yourself out. Just don’t touch anything.”

“Thanks,” Dean said.

 

 

As soon as the boys entered the living room and saw the dead teenager on the floor with his throat ripped out they knew what had happened. “Damn it,” Dean commented.

One of the officers crouched near the body looked up. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Animal control,” Sam replied.

“You ever seen anything like this?” the same officer asked.

Dean frowned. “Yeah.”

 

 

“So what happened?” Y/N/N asked as Sam and Dean got back in the car.

“Vamp attack. Took out a family of four,” Dean replied angrily.

“Fuckers,” Y/N/N growled.

“That demon’s not goin’ anywhere. Let’s go find that vamp nest,” Sam said with determination.

 

 

Everyone looked at the map printout on the small breakfast table in their motel room. Dean had put an X on the five attack sites. “Okay. It looks like ground zero is somewhere in the middle here.”

“It does make a pretty convenient bulls-eye, doesn’t it?” Y/N/N commented.

“Yeah. They’re really sloppy,” Cas said.

 

 

When Dean drove by the dilapidated two-story house he turned around and parked Baby across from it. The blue siding was so old that it was cracking all over the place and the “for sale” sign on the front lawn had so much tall grass around it that it was barely visible. “Looks like a vamp nest to me.”

“Easily,” Sam replied. Everyone got out their gear and his eyes widened when he saw the weapon Y/N/N pulled out of her gym bag.

It was two feet long with a hilt and a hand guard. On the end of the metal rod that extended from the hilt were two sickle-shaped blades situated back to back.

“Where...did you get that?” Sam asked, his eyes clearly stating that he wanted one.

Y/N/N smiled. “I have a friend who forges weapons. I had this specially made for beheadings.”

“You think your friend would make more?” Dean asked.

Y/N/N shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

We should get moving,” Cas prodded.

 

 

There were no guards outside so Sam walked up to the door, tested the knob and smiled. “It’s locked.”

Dean returned the smile. “Yahtzee.” He picked the lock and let everyone in. “We should split up,” he said once everyone was inside.

“Me and Y/N/N can take this floor,” Sam said.

Dean cocked an eyebrow. “Okay, Cas. Looks like you’re with me.”

Both teams began their search. Sam and Y/N/N quietly entered the living room. The room was dingy and in need of paint but other than that it was neat as a pin. An old couch with holes in the fabric, a warped coffee table and a new looking TV populated the space. The TV was at least proof someone was living there.

Dean and Cas checked out the bedrooms, which were in a similar state. After a short search, they went downstairs. “No one upstairs but it's definitely a nest,” Dean announced. “Nothin to do but hide out here and wait.”

 

 

Fifty-four minutes later the rumble from an aging vehicle snapped everyone to attention. Y/N/N looked out the living room window and saw a rusty, pea green van pulling up to the house. She clenched her teeth angrily when she saw the fresh crimson stain decorating the neckline of a male vamp's green T-shirt. “Three of ‘em.” She sighed. “And it looks like they’re coming back from a fresh kill.”

“Son of a bitch,” Dean commented angrily.

The vamps came into the living room amidst a flurry of arguing. “I'm telling you, red shirts are the way to go,” said a female vamp.

The male in the green shirt turned around to face her. “Yeah, cause that works out _so_ well for people on Star Trek,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

Right at that moment all three vamps flew backward and were pinned against a wall. Cas and Sam walked out from their hiding places, each with an arm outstretched as they telekinetically held their quarry in place.

“What the hell are you?!” yelled the red-shirted vamp after struggling for a moment.

Sam smirked and was about to answer when a fourth vamp, who had come in through the back door, ran into the room behind him. Dean grabbed the vamp and yanked her backward so Y/N/N could kill her without hurting Sam or Cas.

Y/N/N used her custom weapon and neatly sliced off the vamp’s head. When she finished she stood with the weapon resting on her right shoulder, her expression daring _anyone_ to try hurting Sam again.

Sam smiled appreciatively. He’d always thought a good looking woman who could fight well was extremely hot. “Thanks, Y/N/N.”

Dean looked a bit offended. “Hey, what am I? Chopped liver?”

Sam shot his brother an embarrassed smile. “Sorry, Dean. Of course, thank you too.”

Dean rolled his eyes. “Uh huh. Let’s just finish this.” He brandished his blade and he and Y/N/N were about to about to behead the rest of the vamps when a small steel ball roll into the room and started spewing sleeping gas. “Gas grenade!” he yelled.

It was too late, however, and after a few seconds Cas was the only one left standing. The vamps all dropped from the wall in an undignified heap.

 “That's enough playtime for now, children,” Crowley said as he strode into the room with a smug smile on his face and a gun in his hand. “Hullo there, Cas.”

 “Crowley,” Cas growled. He took a step forward but stopped when Crowley pointed the gun at him. “Uh uh, Princess. This gun is loaded with angel blade bullets.”

 “You said they wouldn't have time to kill any of us!” said one of the male vamps angrily.

Crowley cocked an eyebrow. “And they wouldn't have if your little friend hadn't tried to come in from behind.”

The vamp set his jaw. “So where's our payment?”

Crowley snapped his fingers and one of the three minions he'd brought with him stepped forward with a black briefcase and handed it to the vamp.

The vamp opened the case, quickly counted the money inside, and nodded. “It's all here.”

 “Now get out of here before I change my mind,” Crowley said in a dangerous tone.

The vamps wasted no time in vacating the premises.

Cas took stock of his situation. Sam was lying on the floor near his feet while Dean and Y/N/N were on the floor about five feet behind him. Crowley and his goons blocked both doorways. There was no way Cas could touch everyone to teleport them all before the demon squad could react and attacking would be futile thanks to those damn angel blade bullets.

 “So, Castiel. You and your friends have been causing me a lot of grief over the last few weeks.”

Cas folded his arms in defiance. “Sorry for the inconvenience,” he said haughtily.

Crowley tsk tsked. “My my, what attitude. The Winchesters have been a bad influence on you.”

Cas noticed Sam's eyes were slightly open which meant there was a chance Sam was awake enough that Cas could speak to him telepathically. He just had to wait till he was able to do it without Crowley noticing.

 “So Sam has his powers back,” Crowley commented. “And they seem stronger.” He cocked his head to one side. “Now how is he doing that without guzzling demon blood?”

Cas took the opportunity to pretend to be belligerent by staying silent when in reality he was trying to talk to Sam. _Sam, can you hear me?_

Sam’s eyebrows raised slightly for a very brief moment. “Cas?” he whispered weakly.

_Don’t speak verbally. Use your mind. I need you to heal yourself so you can fight._

_But will angel healing work on sleeping gas?_

_Yes. In fact, it's why you're still conscious._

_Okay._ Sam let his eyes close and concentrated.

Crowley was losing his patience and cocked the gun. “I won’t ask nicely again.”

Cas didn’t see how Crowley could possibly use the information for anything so he complied. “I let him drink some of my blood.” He relished the way Crowley’s eyes bugged out.

 “Are you off your rocker?! You had no idea what that would create!” Crowley nearly shouted.

Cas set his jaw. “I _knew_ it would save my friend's life,” he said firmly.

Crowley shook his head. “Blasted sentimental idiots. Well, now I know who I have to kill.” He nodded to a minion. She took out a knife and walked over to Sam. Crowley looked at Dean. “Sorry, Squirrel. Nothing personal. Just business,” he said in an off-handed manner.

As the demon raised the knife Sam's eyes snapped open and he psychically knocked it out of her hand.

Crowley barely had time to register what had happened before his gun was yanked from his grip. His heart rate sped up as Sam stood to his full height and he backed a few steps away from the younger Winchester. “Moose. You woke up faster than expected.”

 “Angel mojo does a body good,” Sam replied with a smug expression. He thrust out his hand and within six seconds all three of Crowley’s minions were dead. The people they had been possessing fell to the floor, unconscious, but alive. He turned his attention back to Crowley. “I’m gonna let you live _only_ because you’re occasionally useful, but stay the hell out of our way or I just might forget that,” he said in a dangerous tone.

Crowley clenched his jaw and looked at Sam. “This isn’t over.” And with that, he vanished.

Cas turned to Sam. “Thank you. Those angel blade bullets are really annoying.”

Sam put a hand on the angel's shoulder. “l wouldn’t have known that I could cure myself if you hadn’t told me. We both did good.”

Cas smiled and touched Dean and Y/N/N to wake them.

“We should find those vamps,” Y/N/N said once she was fully vertical.

Dean shook his head. “They could be anywhere by now. There's no point.”

Y/N/N in sighed in frustration. “Fine.”

 

 

He flexed his fingers experimentally in front of his face. “I'm…alive?” He looked to the sky. “Dad?” he called out. When he didn’t get a response he sighed and shook his head. “Typical,” he grumbled bitterly.


	11. On the Wings of Hope

Sam was awakened by loud, frustrated key strokes and looked up from his pillow to see Wen sitting at the small table in their motel room. The glow from her laptop screen illuminated the look of intense concentration on her face. “Wen?”

Wen didn’t look up. “Hm?”

Sam looked at the clock on the nightstand. The green digital numbers told him it was two in the morning. “What are you doing?”

 “Trying to find those vamps.”

Sam sighed. “Come on, Wen. You know they're gonna be keeping quiet for at least a week.”

 “Yeah, but I couldn't sleep anyway.”

“Something wrong?” Sam asked as he sat up.

Wen shook her head. “Not really, I guess. I just hate losing a target. I always feel like any subsequent deaths are partially my fault.”

“Please don’t go all Dean on me.”

Wen let out a half laugh. “I’m not _that_ self-deprecating.” She turned to Sam. “Oh, and I think I found a decent apartment.”

Sam’s face fell a bit. He hadn’t expected her to find a place after only two weeks.

Wen frowned. “What’s the matter?”

Sam got up and sat in the other chair at the table. “I guess I just got used to having you around,” he said with a smile.

Wen blushed a little and smiled. “I gotta admit. It’d be nice to keep living rent free,” she said with a laugh to let him know there was no way she was expecting the brothers to let her stay.

Sam was quiet for a moment. He knew something like this wasn’t his decision alone but he also knew his brother would like it if she stayed. She’d become a good friend to both of them and it didn’t hurt that she made amazing pies. “You don’t have to go.”

Wen’s eyes widened and she stared at Sam in disbelief. “Really?!”

Sam smiled. “Yeah.”

Wen threw her arms around Sam. “Thank you!”

Sam relished the feel of Wen’s arms around him. He nearly asked her out right there and then but he didn’t want her to think he was asking her to “move in” with him. He was afraid it’d be too fast for her since he wasn’t even sure she was interested in him. This uncertainty stemmed from the fact that she had deliberately broken the mood when he had almost kissed her while they were making butter.

“Go, Sammy!” said an approving and familiar voice.

Sam and Wen jumped back from the hug, Dean woke up from the noise and everyone stared at the newcomer.

Sam couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Sure, he was used to people coming back from the dead but not after such a long time. It had been nearly six years but the man standing in front of him still had the unruly honey blonde hair, the green eyes and that annoying, smart-ass smile. Sam remembered it all too well. “G…Gabriel?”

“What the hell?” Dean exclaimed.

Wen's eyes widened and a huge grin spread across her face. “Gabriel?!” She'd always liked the former trickster and was extremely happy he was back.

“Awww. You remembered me. I’m touched,” Gabriel replied.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Don't be. My memories of you aren’t exactly warm and fuzzy.”

Gabe feigned offense. “You wound me, Kiddo.” He glanced over at Wen. “So who's the dish?” he asked with a lecherous smile.

Sam frowned in disapproval. “She's not a dish. She's my friend and her name is Wendy.”

Gabe put his hands in front of himself in a gesture of surrender. “Whoa there, tiger. Defensive much?”

Wen took a few steps toward Gabe. “How? Lucifer killed you,” she asked, smile still in place.

Gabe pointed at Wen. “See, Sam? Some people like me.”

Dean let out a derisive snort. “Only cause she doesn’t know any better.”

Wen frowned. “Actually I do. I know he made some major dick moves but in the end, he proved he's a good person. A little rough around the edges, but a good person,” she said with a warm smile at Gabe.

Sam was upset by Wen's stance on the archangel. “A good person? Are you kidding me?”

Wen shrank back from the anger Sam’s eyes.

“He made me watch my brother die over a hundred times and you think he's a good person?!”

Wen’s stomach clenched with anxiety at Sam's response but she stuck to her guns. “Oh, because you and Dean are so perfect? You two have done some seriously messed up shit to each other. Did you forget you tried to choke Dean to death?!”

Sam stiffened and guilt washed over his face like a cold, dark wave. How many times had he thought of that moment and hated himself for it? He had honestly lost count. “I wasn’t trying to kill him. I was trying to scare him…but I see your point.” Sam turned to Gabe. “And he did help us at the hotel.” He sighed. “I guess I can give him a chance.”

Gabe's eyebrows rose like a parade balloon. “Wow. Never expected that. Thank you, Sam,” he said seriously.

Sam nodded. “Just make sure I don’t regret it.”

Gabe nodded just as the door to the room slammed open to reveal a very urgent looking Cas. “I felt…l felt something impossible. I….” he trailed off when he saw Gabe. “Brother…is it really you?” he asked quietly.

“It's me, little bro,” Gabe said fondly.

Cas smiled and hugged his brother. “I missed you. Did father bring you back?”

Gabe released the hug. “Not sure, but that’s my best guess.”

Dean was confused. “Hang on a sec. He called you little bro but weren’t all you guys created at the same time?” he asked Cas.

Gabe smiled. “Well, the archangels were created first so technically all other angels are our younger siblings. Everyone else came a couple billion years later than us. But one wasn't created until 558 million years ago. That was Cassy.”

Cas groaned in annoyance. “How many times am I going to have to ask you to stop calling me that?”

Gabe pretended to consider this for a moment. “Five hundred thousand,” he replied with a grin.

Cas sighed again in defeat.

Gabe ruffled Cas' hair affectionately, which earned him a glare from the younger angel. “This adorable bundle of feathers is the youngest angel.”

Dean frowned. “Why?”

Gabe shook his head. “We don’t know. Dad never told us. Cas is also the only one of us who was ever a kid. We think maybe the reason for that one is Dad was doing a test run for human kids.”

“Just because I was a child doesn’t mean you need to keep treating me like one,” Cas grumbled.

"Kiddo, I practically raised you. Cut me some slack would you?" He turned to Sam and Dean. "He almost stepped on the first fish to come on land," he said with amusement. "I told him we had big plans for that fish," he said as clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder. Suddenly he sucked in a breath and stared at Sam with wide eyes. "What the hell happen to you?"

Sam was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Your body's energy signature is weird. I've never felt anything like it."

"Some things have happened, brother," Cas said.

Gabe looked toward Cas.

"Sam now has human blood, demon blood, and…angel blood."

Gabe's jaw dropped, his eyes widened and slowly turned his head to stare at Sam.

"Gabriel?" Cas prodded.

Gabe's mouth stayed hanging open like an out of water fish for nearly six seconds before finally rallying his thoughts together enough to speak. "Cas…what have you done?."

 


	12. Reunion

Cas steeled himself for the verbal lashing he would get. "Sam was dying. There was no other way to save him, so I let him drink some of my blood."

Gabe's heart pounded in his chest. He wasn't angry with his little brother. He was terrified for him. The punishment for being a parent of a nephilim was death. He couldn't imagine the punishment for creating whatever Sam was now being any more lenient. "We have to hide you, _now_!" he said with rising panic.

There's no need for that, Gabriel," said a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Chuck had appeared in the room.

"Chuck Shurley?" Gabe said in confusion.

Chuck smiled. "You're half right." He turned to Sam, Dean and Wen. "Close your eyes for a sec, guys."

Now Y/N was confused. "Huh?"

Sam's eyes widened for a second and he did his usual eyebrow pop. "Trust him. Just do it."

Y/N did as she was told and almost immediately a light shown so brightly through her eyelids that she had to cover her eyes with her hands for extra shielding. When she felt Sam's gentle tap on her shoulder she let her arm down and opened her eyes to see two things: Cas, standing with his usual stoic expression and Gabriel, with his mouth hanging open and tears making their way down his face.

"Dad...," Gabe said, barely above a whisper. The tears increased in volume. "DAD!"

Chuck opened his arms as his son ran toward him. Once he had his arms around him he spoke. "Shhh. It's okay, Kiddo. I'm back."

Dean couldn't believe his eyes. Gabriel, one of the first bad-asses in history, was bawling like a love starved 5-year-old. He bit his tongue though because, truth be told, he couldn't say he wouldn't break down if his Dad came back to him after having been missing for several thousand years.

After a few moments Gabe broke the hug and stared at his father. "Where have you been? What happened to you?!"

Chuck sighed heavily. He knew very well his son was not going to like what he had to say.

 

 

To say Gabe was angry would be like calling a volcano a campfire. "You're telling me there was nothing keeping you from coming home ALL THIS TIME?!"

Chuck clenched his jaw. He knew he deserved his son's rage but it still stung. "I'm sorry, just isn't enough. I know it isn't. I knew letting humanity grow on its own was the right decision but...leaving my oldest children to their own devices when I didn't leave any instructions was...not," he said sadly.

"INSTRUCTIONS?! Is that really all you think we needed from you?!" Gabe yelled.

Chuck remained silent.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe we love our father and missed him?! You were gone for almost two thousand years!"

"I know. And I don't expect you to forgive me. All I ask is that you allow me to help you if you need it."

It was nearly a full minute before Gabe sighed deeply. "Okay. And...I'll probably forgive you. I just need time."

Chuck sighed. "Of course. I love you, son."

"I love you too," Gabe replied stiffly.

"And don't worry about Castiel. He won't be punished."

Gabe blinked in surprise. "He won't?"

"I'll explain in a minute." Chuck turned to Cas. "Castiel."

"Yes, Father," Cas replied obediently.

Chuck gave a small smile. "My youngest angel. I didn't get the chance to really talk to you last time I was here."

"Understandable, given the circumstances," Cas replied logically.

"I want you to know that I love you and I'm sorry I never took the time to be a father to you."

Cas nodded. "There are hundreds of thousands of angels and there are more important things than giving all of us face time."

"How are you not upset with me?" Chuck asked in confusion. "I gave you as much free will as the archangels. You should be pissed."

Cas' eyebrows rose for a moment and he folded his arms. "Don't mistake my complacency for forgiveness. I may not have 'lost' you the way the archangels did, I never even _knew_ you, but you still have a lot to answer for."

"I know."

"Weren't you on a bonding vacation with Amara?" Dean asked. He knew Chuck and his kids were having a moment but he had questions that needed answering.

Chuck smiled. "I'm only back for a short visit to take care of a few things." He turned back to Gabe. "I'm leaving you in charge until Michael feels up to it. He's back in Heaven but he's gonna need time to heal."

Gabe nodded. "Okay."

Cas' eyebrows suddenly went up. "Wait a minute. Why would you give me more free will than the others?"

Chuck gave his son a bemused smile. "I realized that everyone blindly following orders was a bad thing in case one of the archangels became corrupt so I needed an angel in the lower ranks who could make decisions."

Realization dawned on Cas' face. "Naomi said she thought I 'came off the assembly line with a crack in my chassy'."

Chuck shook his head. "No. You came out perfectly. Some of your other siblings didn't, however. It's ironic that Naomi would say that to you when she's actually one of the ones that came out wrong. I almost had it right with Metatron, but I gave him too much of an ego."

Dean snorted. "Understatement of the year."

Chuck looked at Y/N. "Hi, Y/N. How ya doin'?"

Y/N, who had been standing there all that time looking like a deer caught in someone's headlights, dropped to her knees in a floor-kissing bow. "I'm fine, Lord. Th-thank you."

Dean threw his head back, then growled and rolled his eyes in annoyance. He grabbed Wen by the arm and hauled her to her feet. "Okay, you've really gotta stop that."

Y/N glared at him and stood on her tiptoes so she could get in his face. "If _you_ don't feel the need, _fine_ , but don't you _dare_ try to tell me I'm not allowed to show him the proper respect!" she said with a glare.

Chuck cleared his throat. "Um, actually, the bowing has always made me really uncomfortable."

Y/N made the same eyebrow pop that Sam did and blinked in surprise. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Chuck smiled. "No problem. And please, call me Chuck."

Now Y/N smiled. "Okay. And I'm glad the fandom was right."

"Oh yeah! You guys had a theory I was God. Good job," Chuck said with praise.

Y/N swelled with pride. For her, getting praised by God was no small thing. "Thank you."

"So." Chuck clapped his hand together and rubbed them briskly after which he blew out a regretful puff of air.  "Back to Cas. I should've told you all this before I left. I'm sorry. Maybe if I had you wouldn't have gotten mixed up with the leviathans."

"All you had to do was answer my prayers. I asked you for guidance and got nothing!" Cas growled.

 Chuck nodded. "I know. And anything I could say to you about that would just be viewed as an excuse so let's move on. There's another question you wanted to ask me?"

"Why was I the only angel to be put through the awkwardness of childhood?"

"There were two reasons. Gabriel was right. You _were_ a test run for human children. The other reason is I wanted you to have a better understanding of humans."

He turned to Sam. "As for you. This is gonna an interesting experience. I never planned for anything like you. I'm gonna leave you the way you are and see what happens. Just..." he placed a hand on Sam's shoulder "...try not to cause another apocalypse," he said with an expression that was halfway between a smile and a wince.

 Sam cleared his throat. "Yeah."

"Hey, Chuck. Do you know what's been going on with Lucifer?" Dean said, folding his arms.

Chuck nodded sadly. "It's the main reason I'm here, actually.”

“You want some help?” Sam offered.

“Yeah, but I think it’d be better if it was Gabe that came along.” Chuck looked to Gabe. “You up for it, Kiddo?”

Gabe nodded. “Let’s do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. I know. It's been 11 months. Honestly, it's mainly because the ending of season 11 made it so I had to rewrite nearly half the story and I was having a lot of difficulty because I had to come up with a very different plot base. Next chapter will hopefully be up sometime in the next month. It depends on how much I get done with the sequel to my published novel (It's gonna be a trilogy). Hopefully, you guys will keep reading. Remember, I will never abandon this story.
> 
> If you have time please check out my original novel "Bloodline of Atlantis: The Triple Psi". It's available in print and digital format on Amazon. Here's the summary:
> 
> Imagine you could move things with your mind.  
> Imagine you could predict the future.  
> Imagine you could heal wounds with just a touch. 
> 
> Now imagine that having all these powers at once means the people you love could die. Samantha Harris has foreseen death and she will stop it from happening at any cost but she has enemies who have been after her power since she was four years old and these enemies have powers too.


	13. Righting Wrongs

“It’s crazy. We tried to convince him he wasn’t God back when we first met him and it turns out he actually is,” Sam said to Wen with a bemused smile. “You said the fans knew. How?”

Wen shook her head in disbelief at how dense those two were. “You guys _really_ should read the books. Near the end of Swan Song Chuck narrates the last part while dressed all in white and then vanishes in a swirl of mist.”

Sam and Dean stared at each other in disbelief. “Wow. Maybe we _should_ read ‘em.” Dean said. He turned to Cas. “So if Gabe raised you how'd you wind up with such a giant stick up your ass when we first met?”

Cas rolled his eyes. “Not all people take on the characteristics of their caregivers, Dean” He sighed wearily. “Because I was so much younger than the others I was desperate to prove myself so I tried to compensate for his behavior by being more serious than him. I wish I'd realized back then that it didn’t matter how serious he was as long as he had a good heart. And he _does_ ,” he said, looking pointedly at Sam and Dean. “I know he's done a lot of stupid things but he does.”

Dean put a hand on Cas’ shoulder. “And we’re gonna try to forgive him, okay? Just give us time.”

Cas nodded. “Thanks.”

 

* * *

 

 

The young secretary cowered on the floor next to the broken body of his co-worker. His normally timid and kind-hearted boss was crouched next to him with the cruelest smile he'd ever seen. It was like looking into the eyes of the devil himself. Little did he know, he actually was.

“Now, let's try this again,” the boss began. He tried to move in closer but suddenly found himself rooted in place. He frowned and sighed angrily through his nose. There was only one person who could control him so completely. “What the Hell do you want?” he growled.

Chuck snapped his fingers and the secretary vanished. “Why, Lucifer?” he asked his son sadly.

Lucifer turned to face his father. “You have the balls to ask me that? After leaving me a second time!” he spat.

Chuck sighed. “Son, you _know_ what was at stake. I needed to spend some time with your aunt. I wasn't leaving forever.”

Lucifer's eyes widened a bit and he swallowed hard. “I...I thought....”

Chuck shook his head. “No. I will never leave you for so long again. You have my word. But I _have_ to repair my relationship with my sister first, because she was hurt by me first. I've restored the lives you destroyed. I want you to return to heaven and wait for me. “

“I thought your apology was an act. Just something to get me on your side for the fight,” Lucifer said as he stood up.

“No, Lucifer. I love you. That will never change.” Chuck walked over to his son and hugged him.

Lucifer stiffened. He hadn't been hugged in several million years. It was an odd sensation for him. The anger he'd felt in the last few months lessened, but just a bit.

“Lucifer, I promise you'll never be alone again.” He gently pushed his son back. “I have a surprise for you.”

Lucifer frowned suspiciously. “A surprise?”

Chuck smiled. “Come on in,” he said, seemingly to the air.

Lucifer's eyes became wide as dinner plates when his brother, Gabriel, materialized before him. “Gabriel!”

Gabe smiled. “Hey, Lucy.”

“I'm so sorry,” Lucifer said with a choked voice. “I didn't wanna kill you.”

Gabe nodded. “I know. I didn't exactly leave you a choice.”

“I have to get going but I'll be back for another visit soon,” Chuck told his sons. He put a hand on Lucifer's shoulder. “I want to believe you'll stay out of trouble, but I believed that when I left with your aunt and look what happened.” Chuck arced his hand in a wave over Lucifer's face.

Lucifer scowled. “What did you do?”

“Nothing terrible. I just reduced your powers. Until I come back you can fly, heal and repair things, but that's it.

Lucifer clenched his teeth. “I suppose I should be grateful that's _all_ you did.”

 

 

Bobby sighed for what seemed like the millionth time as he sat on the minimalistic bed in his cell in Heaven. He wondered if this was his eternity. His heart ached at the idea that he might never see his loved ones again. He didn't even bother to look up when an angel entered the prison. They rarely spoke to him and when they did it was hardly encouraging, which was why the familiar way the angel greeted him got his attention.

“Hi there, Bobby.”

Bobby looked up to see a blonde angel smiling comfortingly down at him. He was filled with skepticism as he stood and faced his visitor. “Do I know you, son?”

The angel smiled. “My name's Gabriel. I'm a...” He looked upwards as he thought for a moment. “well, friend would be too strong a word I guess, but I know Sam and Dean and I'm gonna get you out of here.”

“What about the other angels?” Bobby asked cautiously.

“Dad came back for a quick visit. He put me in charge till he comes back,” Gabe said as he opened Bobby's cell. “I'm sorry for what you've been through,” he said with a frown as Bobby stepped out into the hallway, “It wasn't right.”

“Thank you,” Bobby replied seriously.

Gabe smiled. Come on. Let's get you back to your heaven.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is short, but I wanted to post _something_ after all this time. I finally sorted out all the crap that was making it so I couldn't work on this. Also, there's been some changes in the previous chapters so you may wanna skim them again if this isn't your first time reading this fic. 
> 
> Hugs


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